PHM-Exch> Some figures on foreign aid

[Claudio Schuftan]

> From : martindonohoe at phsj.org

Here are some figures to keep in mind on foreign aid and US charitable
giving taken from a presentation entitled "Environmental Degradation and
Social Injustice (http://phsj.org/?page_id=12) - references to be found in
articles therein.

Foreign Aid
•       In total dollars: Japan #1, U.S. #2  ...  even though the U.S.
economy is more than twice the size of Japan’s.
•       As a % of GDP, U.S. ranks 21st among the world’s 22 wealthiest
nations.
•       More money flows out of developing countries in the form of interest
payments, profits of foreign corporations, and clandestine investments in
financial markets of rich countries than flows into them as loans, aid, and
foreign direct investment.
•       U.S. Aid: Over 1/3 military, 1/4 economic, 1/3  for food and
development.
•       Most U.S. aid benefits U.S. corporations, is spent on military
operations, goes to Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
•       Aid agencies are often forced to buy from U.S. companies (at
inflated prices) so that
 70% of aid effectively returns to U.S.
•       Food aid is inefficient, it benefits large agribusiness at the
expense of local farmers/economies.
     –  It takes $2 of taxpayer money to generate $1 in food aid.

Only 0.9% of the total federal budget, 1.6% of the U.S. discretionary budget
goes to it.
•       Yet 64% of Americans believed in a 1997 poll that foreign aid was
the largest federal expenditure.
•       On average, Americans think that 24% of the federal budget goes
toward foreign aid, i.e., approximately $250 billion/year or 2.5% of income.

U.S. Charitable Giving
by Income Bracket
•       $15,000/yr and under: 26%
•       $15K - $30K: 9%
•       $30K - $50K: 5.3%
•       $50K - $100K: 3.8%
•       $100K - $200K: 3.0%
•       $200K and over: 3.4%

Americans Charitable Giving:
•       Religious Groups: 35%
•       Education: 13%
•       Multipurpose Foundations: 10%
•       Social Services: 8%
•       Health: 8%
•       Arts and Culture: 6%
•       Science: 5%
•       Environment and Animals: 3%
•       International Aid: 2%
•       Other: 9%  - Includes individual, corporate, foundation, and bequest
donations.
•       Less than 10% goes to groups which directly help the poor.

The Gates Foundation:
•       Endowment of approximately $35 billion, with another $31 billion
pledged by Buffett Foundation.
•       Donates 5% of its worth/yr, invests 95% (typically for charities).
•       At least 41% of its assets are invested in companies that counter
the foundation's charitable goals or social concern philosophy, e.g., oil
and chemical companies, agrobusiness, pharmaceutical industry; see
–
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gatesx07jan07,0,6827615.story


You may want to visit Martin Donohue's blog: Public Health and Social
Justice: http://phsj.org/

>
> You can also see this comment here:
>
> http://www.socialmedicine.org/2009/08/11/globalization-and-health/an-indictment-of-foreign-aid-is-it-too-late/#comments
>
>
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