XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ab.politics   
   XPost: ont.politics, man.politics, sk.politics   
   From: "@nyet.ca   
      
   On 6/1/2014 11:06 AM, Roy wrote:   
   > Why are WE spending money in developing countries for THEIR people? Don't   
   they have governments? Why are we interfering in their AFFAIRS? I thought we   
   elected Harper et al to govern OUR nation...well when is he going to fix our   
   problems? So far he's    
   done little but travel over-seas and spend tax-payers dollars else-where.   
      
      
   I wondered that many, many times over the years, but saw it explained   
   well in an article I read a few years back.  The reasons why 'wealthier   
   countries' do it goes like this:   
      
   -  When countries with huge populations are so impoverished that they   
   are NOT consumers for products through trade or imports, wealthier   
   governments 'give them a hand up'.   
      
   -  The theory from those governments is this:  If the people of those   
   countries (eg India, China, Bangladesh, Mexico) are able to earn enough   
   money to start becoming buyers/consumers, the wealthier countries have   
   found huge populations to which they can sell products.   
      
   -  This is the kicker:  the money which is used to 'develop' those   
   impoverished countries comes from the TAXPAYERS of developed countries,   
   via their governments' foreign aid programs.   
   Not from the corporations that will ultimately be making more and more   
   money as these huge populations become consumers of their goods.   
      
   In practice, developed countries use the monies they've taken from   
   taxpayers of their countries to open doors for their corporations to do   
   business in previously barren populations.   
      
   Now, in theory, this should work for the benefit of the country that is   
   sending foreign aid to countries that are potential buyers of goods and   
   services.   
   But in practice what has happened is that the corporations which now   
   have new customers for their goods, are not producing those goods in the   
   countries from which the money flowed.   
      
   They took their production plants and put them into the impoverished   
   countries - to save mega dollars on labour.  And the huge savings they   
   achieved went into their own pockets - and those of shareholders, who   
   most often were not even citizens or residents of the country which sent   
   the foreign aid in the first place.   
      
   So, in summary, what has occurred is this:  our governments have used us   
   taxpayers to open doors for corporations that in turn took their huge   
   profits and had very good lives for ever after.   
      
   And it could all have been so different if our governments were not just   
   corporate pawns and rightwing zealots. . . but governments which truly   
   cared about making lives better in other countries, but made sure the   
   corporations of our own countries employed our people - or paid a very   
   dear import fee for goods that were produced elsewhere.   
      
   That how I see it.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)