Foreign Aid: Should We Keep It At Home?

We are a group of first year English composition students instructed by Tonya Browning at The University of Texas at Austin. Our project concerns the United States and its involvement in providing foreign assistance to underprivileged nations. This presentation examines both sides of the debate regarding foreign aid to other countries.

The Drawbacks of U.S. Foreign Assistance

The United States sends billions of dollars in supplies, labor, and actual funds to other countries each year. Even though we are experiencing record unemployment, increased racial tension, skyrocketing infant mortality rates, woeful underfunding of education, crumbling infrastructure and a record budget deficit that will probably mortgage our grandchildren's grandchildren, we are still sending the taxpayer's hard earned money to countries thousands of miles away. The question remains: if the government has billions of dollars to spend on these other countries, then why are Americans suffering at home? These funds need to stay in our own country to help fight these domestic problems. Not only should we keep this money at home, but United States officials need to consider reallocation of current funds.

The Advantages of U.S. Foreign Assistance

There are a number of reasons why foreign assistance programs are a sound investment for the future of the United States. First and foremost, they help the US economically while insuring global stability. In addition, trading partners are gained, strategic allies are secured, and democracies are fostered around the world. Humanitarian acts also play a substantial role in the intervenment of the US because the welfare of the underdeveloped is advanced. Hence, the advantages to solid foreign aid programs benefit not only the US, but the impoverished countries as well. Most importantly, it is through foreign aid and the compassion of the American people, that peace and prosperity are allowed to advance around the globe.

For more information, contact:

The Drawbacks of Foreign Assistance
David Quy, an Economics major from Austin, Texas.
Connie Fuentes, a Business major from Monterrey, Mexico.
Dennis Lozano, a Business Finance major from Austin, Texas.

The Advantages of Foreign Assistance
Hector Canales, a Civil Engineering major from Laredo, Texas.
Lorie Cereceres, a Business Honors major from El Paso, Texas.
Daniel Spraggins, a Journalism major from Henrietta, Texas.