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France boosts pledge to fight world poverty, urges others to follow suit

Councilman

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France, Spain, Greece urge tax to raise poverty funding world wide. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pressed debt-ridden donor countries on Monday not to cut aid to the poor despite their budgetary woes.

We need to be ready to fight this global attempt at redistribution through a tax we don't need.

If they want to feed the world stop Monsanto from altering seeds and pay for our farmers to teach the world how to grow what they need.

That may sound a bit Liberal but it just makes sense and is close to the old adage give a man a fish and so on.

Charity begins at home and we have problems of our own thanks to dumb ass politicians not know their back side from a hole in the ground.

We have spent Billions and all we have to show is massive debt and claims of success that are lies of the first magnitude.



FOXNews.com - France boosts pledge to fight world poverty, urges others to follow suit
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The 10-year-old promise to lift the world's poorest is unfulfilled and with world economies clawing back from the worst recession since World War II, the French president and others implored leaders on Monday not to return to their "old bad habits" of ignoring global poverty.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French leader, was the first to accept U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's challenge for nations to deliver more resources to combat global poverty, ignorance and misery. He pledged to boost France's annual $10 billion contribution to the world's poorest people by 20 percent over the next three years. He urged other leaders to join him.

"We have no right to do less than what we have decided to do," Sarkozy told more than 140 presidents, premiers, princes and a king at the opening of the three-day U.N. Millennium Development Goals summit. "Let us not fall back into our old bad habits."

Sarkozy spoke as U.N. member states began their accounting of progress in the decade since promising to end global poverty. Developed nations have fallen well short in keeping pace with a final goal set for 2015. The U.N. acknowledges that even if the main target of reducing extreme poverty by half is achieved in the next five years, nearly 1 billion people still will be living on less than $1.25 a day.
 
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France, Spain, Greece urge tax to raise poverty funding world wide. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pressed debt-ridden donor countries on Monday not to cut aid to the poor despite their budgetary woes.

We need to be ready to fight this global attempt at redistribution through a tax we don't need.

If they want to feed the world stop Monsanto from altering seeds and pay for our farmers to teach the world how to grow what they need.

That may sound a bit Liberal but it just makes sense and is close to the old adage give a man a fish and so on.

Charity begins at home and we have problems of our own thanks to dumb ass politicians not know their back side from a hole in the ground.

We have spent Billions and all we have to show is massive debt and claims of success that are lies of the first magnitude.

I disagree. I say we send the third world some of our frankenfish. If they don't end up glowing in the dark, then we can use them here too.

NOTE: In case you are wondering about my post, I don't really mean that. I just feel a little assholish this evening. LOL.
 
I see no reason the American taxpayer should be robbed to feed people in a country who hates us.

If we can't buy servitude with our cash, we should keep it in our pockets.

Especially since the Constitution does not allow the federal government to buy pals by bribery.
 
France, Spain, Greece urge tax to raise poverty funding world wide. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pressed debt-ridden donor countries on Monday not to cut aid to the poor despite their budgetary woes.

So...it's a bad idea to help fund economic development in countries prone to the growth of Islamic terrorism? Yeah, let's make it easier for terrorists to open more fronts. Great logic there Councilman. Glad to see you still hate America.
 
Americans are the most charitable people in the world, but redistribution of wealth is nothing but theft.
 
So...it's a bad idea to help fund economic development in countries prone to the growth of Islamic terrorism? Yeah, let's make it easier for terrorists to open more fronts. Great logic there Councilman. Glad to see you still hate America.

Doo you have a problem with reading comprehension I do not now nor will I ever back any global tax for any reason and I resent hell out of your mistaken thoughts.

If you review only a few of my posts I defy anyone to come up with a more Patriotic attitude than I have.

I happen to be one of those who took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic and I'll be damned if some "little person" who can't read is going to say otherwise and get away with it.
 
Not true.

The Most Generous Countries on Earth - NYTimes.com

The US is only nr 5 according to this index.

The results listed are misleading because the list is based on the individual giving using the total population of the Nations listed.

If you were to add to these numbers the amount given by our Government we far and away out strip most of the other Nations combined totals.

Just look what happens when an Earth Quake hits a place like Haiti we send in ships and air craft with an almost limitless relief supplies.

The same for the Flooding victims in Pakistan. So the previous post was correct. It's all in how you look at it.

Your tax dollars at work around the world.

Those who stand for nothing fall for anything
 
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The results listed are misleading because the list is based on the individual giving using the total population of the Nations listed.

If you were to add to these numbers the amount given by our Government we far and away out strip most of the other Nations combined totals.

Just look what happens when an Earth Quake hits a place like Haiti we send in ships and air craft with an almost limitless relief supplies.

The same for the Flooding victims in Pakistan. So the previous post was correct. It's all in how you look at it.

Your tax dollars at work around the world.

Those who stand for nothing fall for anything

Again, you cant compare nations on absolute numbers. It does NOT show the burden said giving is having on a nation. Hence per captia is the only way and here the US is at the bottom. So the previous post is not correct, it is based on right wing propaganda that is not backed up by facts.
 
Again, you cant compare nations on absolute numbers. It does NOT show the burden said giving is having on a nation. Hence per captia is the only way and here the US is at the bottom. So the previous post is not correct, it is based on right wing propaganda that is not backed up by facts.

You know damn well the US gives more than any other country. End of story. It's communist tendencies in Spain trying to tax the world that makes me sick. Our money is none of your damn concern.
 
Again, you cant compare nations on absolute numbers. It does NOT show the burden said giving is having on a nation. Hence per captia is the only way and here the US is at the bottom. So the previous post is not correct, it is based on right wing propaganda that is not backed up by facts.

I agree with the previous poster.
However, say I agree with you. Conservatives are more generous than liberals, so if we're not number 1 maybe you should give more.;-)
 
Not true.

The Most Generous Countries on Earth - NYTimes.com

The US is only nr 5 according to this index.

"Only nr 5"? Pretty damn impressive for such a large country with a geographically diffuse people with a quite bit more cultural diversity than the nations higher up on the list. One would assume Europe would make out pretty poorly if we were counted as one.
 
I see no reason the American taxpayer should be robbed to feed people in a country who hates us.

Well, which countries are you referring to? Most sub-Saharan Africans are big fans of the United States. In India we aren't quite as popular, but I wouldn't say that the Indians hate us. I assume you're referring to Central and Southeast Asia? Perhaps feeding people in those countries would get them to STOP hating us. Studies have shown that whenever the USS Mercy visits a port, the residents in that region have a more favorable view of the United States.
 
Not true.

The Most Generous Countries on Earth - NYTimes.com

The US is only nr 5 according to this index.

That's an interesting list. I wonder why the Anglosphere rates so highly overall. I'm not trying to bash other nations, I'm genuinely curious. 5 of the top 5, and 7 of the top 10 have been ruled by the British at some point...I wonder what it is about that culture that encourages charity so much.

It's also interesting that even desperately poor nations like Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Laos are able to give so much to others.
 
More of the same old same old, the futile continuance of those failed past policies.

The Chinese are more clear-eyed!


Africa
 
Well good for these countries to try and help the fight, but we all know as soon as France starts donating money they will find themselves in a problem and be forced to surrender.
 
I support fighting world poverty, but not through the UN. Sending money to the UN would better be spent fueling a fire for homeless people, the warmth would do more good than funneling funds into a bloated hypocritical organization. To fight world poverty we would need to abolish governments that keep people under poverty (dictatorships, theocracies, socialist/communist nations, etc.)
 
More of the same old same old, the futile continuance of those failed past policies.

The Chinese are more clear-eyed!


Africa

We could certainly learn a lot from the Chinese approach of treating Africa as a potential market and source of cheap labor, instead of as a problem to be solved. While the West is helping Africa solve their immediate health problems, China is providing a much better model for governance. Nations have begun to realize that the Chinese are only interested in investing in countries that provide some protection of private property.

With that said, there is nothing wrong with providing aid, as long as it's getting to the people it needs to get to, and it's an effective way of spending the money. I don't think it's correct when some people (not you) say that "foreign aid to Africa hasn't worked." The results vary significantly depending on what the money is spent on, and in what countries. Even within the same countries, the results can vary a lot from one region to another. I think we'd be better off if we stop donating money to places and causes that don't work, and instead give it to those that do.
 
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I support fighting world poverty, but not through the UN. Sending money to the UN would better be spent fueling a fire for homeless people, the warmth would do more good than funneling funds into a bloated hypocritical organization. To fight world poverty we would need to abolish governments that keep people under poverty (dictatorships, theocracies, socialist/communist nations, etc.)

Unfortunately it isn't that simple. There are some relatively well-governed states (e.g. Mali) that are nevertheless destitute. Furthermore, even if you somehow abolished all oppressive governments, other oppressive governments would just take its place. Some societies are so dysfunctional that they just aren't going to default to anything resembling liberal democratic capitalism.

This is partially why I think we're fighting a losing battle trying to build a democracy in Afghanistan/Pakistan. It's just not going to happen as long as the underlying social problems exist. That's no easy task to fix.
 
We could certainly learn a lot from the Chinese approach of treating Africa as a potential market and source of cheap labor, instead of as a problem to be solved. While the West is helping Africa solve their immediate health problems, China is providing a much better model for governance. Nations have begun to realize that the Chinese are only interested in investing in countries that provide some protection of private property.

With that said, there is nothing wrong with providing aid, as long as it's getting to the people it needs to get to, and it's an effective way of spending the money. I don't think it's correct when some people (not you) say that "foreign aid to Africa hasn't worked." The results vary significantly depending on what the money is spent on, and in what countries. Even within the same countries, the results can vary a lot from one region to another. I think we'd be better off if we stop donating money to places and causes that don't work, and instead give it to those that do.

Yes, we should certainly provide aid when people are suffering but the west has poured trillions into Africa over the last 60 years and have little to show for it. And, as you say, it's usually not getting to the people who most need it.

I think we agree that foreign aid should still go to African but in a radically different format than what has gone on in the past. There has to come a time when we realize that past policies aren't working and probably never will.
 
Yes, we should certainly provide aid when people are suffering but the west has poured trillions into Africa over the last 60 years and have little to show for it. And, as you say, it's usually not getting to the people who most need it.

I think we agree that foreign aid should still go to African but in a radically different format than what has gone on in the past. There has to come a time when we realize that past policies aren't working and probably never will.

Definitely. There are good uses of foreign aid (e.g. micronutrients, condoms, vaccinations, primary schools) and bad uses of foreign aid (e.g. tuberculosis prevention, environmental protection). It's not always easy to tell them apart. Furthermore, there are countries where foreign aid is very well-spent (e.g. India, Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho) and countries where foreign aid basically disappears into a black hole (e.g. Chad, Guinea, Somalia, Central African Republic).

I think we need to give to those causes/places where the money can be used effectively. It sucks for those who are suffering in other regions and from other problems...but I think we need to recognize that we have a limited foreign aid budget and it needs to be used wherever it can do the most good.
 
You know damn well the US gives more than any other country. End of story. It's communist tendencies in Spain trying to tax the world that makes me sick. Our money is none of your damn concern.

Hog wash. Since we are talking government money (noted by the "tax dollars" aspect), the US gives most in absolute terms, that is correct. About 23 billion a year in ODA.. the UK gives almost 13 billion and has what 1/4 the population? France, Germany and the UK combined give over 33 billion and that is from a population base that is about half that of the US. If we talk about the EU as a whole, there is no contest there ... EU > US by leaps and bounds in ODA.

But that is not how we compare countries is it now? No that is done in % of GDP or per captia and there the US is at the bottom of the OECD ranking. The US gives only 0.17% (2008 number) of GDP in official development aid... Spain gives over double that amount and my home country gives over 4 times that amount.

So by all means.. be "proud" of your 23 billion a year you give out of an economy of 300 million people...I would not.. Then again I am proud that my small nation of 5 million people give about 2.5 billion dollars each year in ODA.. at least I have something to have it in as they say.
 
Doo you have a problem with reading comprehension

None at all. I merely pointed out where your argument became absurd.

I do not now nor will I ever back any global tax for any reason and I resent hell out of your mistaken thoughts.

First of all, it's not a global tax. So you fail there. Second, the Millennium development goals are partially geared towards alleviating conditions that foster terrorism. So you fail there as well. So basically you are against reducing terrorism because it might cost you $5. Glad to see you still hate America.

If you review only a few of my posts I defy anyone to come up with a more fake Patriotic attitude than I have.

Fixed.
 
Hog wash. Since we are talking government money (noted by the "tax dollars" aspect), the US gives most in absolute terms, that is correct. About 23 billion a year in ODA.. the UK gives almost 13 billion and has what 1/4 the population? France, Germany and the UK combined give over 33 billion and that is from a population base that is about half that of the US. If we talk about the EU as a whole, there is no contest there ... EU > US by leaps and bounds in ODA.

But that is not how we compare countries is it now? No that is done in % of GDP or per captia and there the US is at the bottom of the OECD ranking. The US gives only 0.17% (2008 number) of GDP in official development aid... Spain gives over double that amount and my home country gives over 4 times that amount.

So by all means.. be "proud" of your 23 billion a year you give out of an economy of 300 million people...I would not.. Then again I am proud that my small nation of 5 million people give about 2.5 billion dollars each year in ODA.. at least I have something to have it in as they say.

What a crock! If you count charities from a country you have to count all charitable giving to be fair. That includes government, personal, religious and private institutions. It all comes out of the collective pockets of U.S. Citizens. Screw a stupid frigging tax. It is called CHARITY. I want no part of another wealth distribution scheme by any name.
 
Not true.

The Most Generous Countries on Earth - NYTimes.com

The US is only nr 5 according to this index.

1. Australia
1. New Zealand
3. Ireland
3. Canada
5. Switzerland
5. United States
7. Netherlands
8. Britain
8. Sri Lanka
10 Austria

"Only" number 5? Out of 195 countries in the world? That's actually outstanding. Australia, Canada, U.S., Ireland, and Britain are in the top 8. English speaking nations leading the way on yet another list? Where is France and Germany? Or Spain? Sitting out an entire Cold War has produced what from Europe for the world? Maybe France should make less speeches about upping the ante to feed the hungry and catch up with de Gaulle's "inferiors." Or at least release it's colonial grip in Western Africa to join the rest of Europe in the post colonial period.
 
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