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People keep saying we're the richest country in the history of the world. I think we have a responsibility to practice good old fashioned Christian compassion (

People keep saying we're the richest country in the history of the world. I think we have a responsibility to practice good old fashioned Christian compassion (with a side of soft power if that's more your thing.)

imgabe 1y ago
I thought we weren't a Christian country? Either way, individuals are welcome to practice any sort of compassion they want with their own money. The government collects tax dollars from citizens under threat of violence, and their only responsibility should be to use that money to ensure the welfare of its citizens, not to engage in charity work in other countries. If citizens want to do that, have the government collect fewer tax dollars and citizens can give them to charity as they see fit.
- yablak 1y ago
  USAID is not just charity. It is a projection of soft power that keeps many countries and world citizens looking up to the USA. It reduces likelihood of terrorist attacks on US citizens.
  - imgabe 1y ago
    Among people likely to consider a terrorist attack, USAID is widely considered a front for the CIA to meddle in other countries' governments (and this has been proven to be the case in some instances). Which, if true, makes it a bad front for the CIA, and if false, means it creates more resentment than anything else and does little to reduce the likelihood of terrorist attacks.
  - arresin 1y ago
    No more soft power please.
- rl3 1y ago
  >Either way, individuals are welcome to practice any sort of compassion they want with their own money. The government collects tax dollars from citizens under threat of violence, and their only responsibility should be to use that money to ensure the welfare of its citizens, not to engage in charity work in other countries. Soft power is of obvious immense benefit to citizens of the United States, however you've rejected that in other comments. The argument otherwise reads like a stereotypical "Not with my tax dollars!" argument. It's always fascinated me, that. Inevitably it's always an impassioned argument, regardless of the funding subject. In this particular case, a very conservative estimate might put the number of child deaths in the tens of thousands. Reality is probably closer to hundreds of thousands at this point. I pay taxes, a lot of them. I don't get angry when my taxes are used by the government to keep disadvantaged children in hellish conditions alive. If you were to express the total cost of USAID's former budget against your tax bill as a binary choice between that and a few hundred thousand kids dying, I suspect it'd be much harder to maintain your current position. Moreover, consider that central to this issue is the abrupt dismantling of an agency which was critical to global aid flow, and amounted to a rug pull. There was no justification for that. Hopefully Sam's ASI is more compassionate than people, which frankly isn't a high bar lately. https://www.npr.org/2025/05/28/nx-s1-5413322/aid-groups-say-usaid-cuts-are-already-having-deadly-consequences https://www.npr.org/2025/05/28/nx-s1-5413322/aid-groups-say-... https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/05/28/g-s1-69186/marco-rubio-usaid-death-sickle-cell-nigeria https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/05/28/g-s1-...
  - msgodel 1y ago
    It's a benefit to our government but this has mostly been used against citizens. I'm more than happy to see the "empire" die and willing to do anything I can to speed that along.
  - imgabe 1y ago
    How about we lower taxes and give money back to the people who earned it? If you want to use your money to save dying children on the other side of the world, you are welcome to do that. If other people have more pressing needs for their money they can do that too. It seems people are infinitely compassionate when spending someone else’s money.
- nielsbot 1y ago
  Let me guess: “all taxation is theft”? Absolutely we aren’t a Christian country. I personally don’t need Christianity to tell me charity for our fellow humans is a good thing. Plus, richest country in the history of the world remember? The rich in the US enjoy their wealth at the “pleasure” of the lower classes. (And not just the American lower classes.) Those dollars they’re hoarding? Those were created by the people and have value because of the people. So, I’m all for confiscatory taxation to fund humane charitable endeavors and eliminate wealth hoarding. Someone will have to make do with one less yacht I suppose. Finally, the amount we’re taking about here is a mere pittance. Let’s cut some other wasteful spending first (Pentagon) if you’re looking for savings.

imgabe 1y ago

I thought we weren't a Christian country? Either way, individuals are welcome to practice any sort of compassion they want with their own money. The government collects tax dollars from citizens under threat of violence, and their only responsibility should be to use that money to ensure the welfare of its citizens, not to engage in charity work in other countries. If citizens want to do that, have the government collect fewer tax dollars and citizens can give them to charity as they see fit.

yablak 1y ago
USAID is not just charity. It is a projection of soft power that keeps many countries and world citizens looking up to the USA. It reduces likelihood of terrorist attacks on US citizens.
- imgabe 1y ago
  Among people likely to consider a terrorist attack, USAID is widely considered a front for the CIA to meddle in other countries' governments (and this has been proven to be the case in some instances). Which, if true, makes it a bad front for the CIA, and if false, means it creates more resentment than anything else and does little to reduce the likelihood of terrorist attacks.
- arresin 1y ago
  No more soft power please.
rl3 1y ago
>Either way, individuals are welcome to practice any sort of compassion they want with their own money. The government collects tax dollars from citizens under threat of violence, and their only responsibility should be to use that money to ensure the welfare of its citizens, not to engage in charity work in other countries. Soft power is of obvious immense benefit to citizens of the United States, however you've rejected that in other comments. The argument otherwise reads like a stereotypical "Not with my tax dollars!" argument. It's always fascinated me, that. Inevitably it's always an impassioned argument, regardless of the funding subject. In this particular case, a very conservative estimate might put the number of child deaths in the tens of thousands. Reality is probably closer to hundreds of thousands at this point. I pay taxes, a lot of them. I don't get angry when my taxes are used by the government to keep disadvantaged children in hellish conditions alive. If you were to express the total cost of USAID's former budget against your tax bill as a binary choice between that and a few hundred thousand kids dying, I suspect it'd be much harder to maintain your current position. Moreover, consider that central to this issue is the abrupt dismantling of an agency which was critical to global aid flow, and amounted to a rug pull. There was no justification for that. Hopefully Sam's ASI is more compassionate than people, which frankly isn't a high bar lately. https://www.npr.org/2025/05/28/nx-s1-5413322/aid-groups-say-usaid-cuts-are-already-having-deadly-consequences https://www.npr.org/2025/05/28/nx-s1-5413322/aid-groups-say-... https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/05/28/g-s1-69186/marco-rubio-usaid-death-sickle-cell-nigeria https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/05/28/g-s1-...
- msgodel 1y ago
  It's a benefit to our government but this has mostly been used against citizens. I'm more than happy to see the "empire" die and willing to do anything I can to speed that along.
- imgabe 1y ago
  How about we lower taxes and give money back to the people who earned it? If you want to use your money to save dying children on the other side of the world, you are welcome to do that. If other people have more pressing needs for their money they can do that too. It seems people are infinitely compassionate when spending someone else’s money.
nielsbot 1y ago
Let me guess: “all taxation is theft”? Absolutely we aren’t a Christian country. I personally don’t need Christianity to tell me charity for our fellow humans is a good thing. Plus, richest country in the history of the world remember? The rich in the US enjoy their wealth at the “pleasure” of the lower classes. (And not just the American lower classes.) Those dollars they’re hoarding? Those were created by the people and have value because of the people. So, I’m all for confiscatory taxation to fund humane charitable endeavors and eliminate wealth hoarding. Someone will have to make do with one less yacht I suppose. Finally, the amount we’re taking about here is a mere pittance. Let’s cut some other wasteful spending first (Pentagon) if you’re looking for savings.