[extropy-chat] darfur

[J. Andrew Rogers]

On May 2, 2006, at 6:36 AM, Hughes, James J. wrote:
> Bulldada. The US ranks well below most European countries in the
> generosity of its aid measured as a percent of GDP or government
> expenditures, and also scores poorly when all measures are  
> accounted for
> including trade, migration and security assistance:


Ahem.  Before you get too far ahead of yourself, you might want to  
spend less time trying to get that round peg into a square hole.  The  
CGD "statistics" are pure nonsense if you read their methodology, and  
strongly biased toward a world view that is particularly unfavorable  
to the US.  Any statistic that manages to so creatively exclude large  
percentages of US aid using rationalizations that I could only  
describe as arbitrary, subjective, and suspect has no place in  
reasoned discussion.  It is a fine example of how to twist the facts  
with creative statistical methods, but I guess we won't look at it  
too closely if it supports our biases, eh?  BTW, percentage of  
government spending does not mean much to most people, since the size  
of government relative to GDP and in absolute terms varies widely.   
Per capita figures would have been a lot more useful and would have  
obscured a lot less.

As a more general comment, you are repeating the oft-noted mistake of  
assuming that all aid comes from governments.  While true in many  
countries, US private aid *dwarfs* US government aid, by a factor of  
3-4x depending on the source.  Hell, private US donations to the UN  
exceed the contributions of many countries to that organization.   
There are some other notably generous countries in the industrialized  
world, such as Switzerland, Ireland, and Canada (all of whom give  
generous private aid in addition to government aid), but their size  
limits their impact.

I personally have a strong preference for private aid anyway, as it  
has a history of being far more constructive and having far fewer  
strings attached.  It would be a real stretch to argue that the world  
would be better off if private aid was all converted into government  
aid.


Worth noting:

I would point out that the more general statistics show a pretty  
strong correlation between economic growth and charitable giving; I  
am sure some would argue that there is a causal relationship between  
the two.  Reversing the economic stagnation that afflicts so many  
industrialized countries (a self-inflicted wound for sure) might be  
one of the best ways to meaningfully increase aid.


J. Andrew Rogers