The great success of our country ( wsj.)

@AverageJoe1 said
Best argument FOR ending USAID.

Don't write me, please, I would just show you this. Please.
This should wrap it up;\\

AI Overview The most common argument for ending or dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is that taxpayer-funded foreign assistance should be strictly aligned with core national interests rather than global or h ...[text shortened]... the agency point to bureaucratic bloat, mismanagement, and redundant or misallocated foreign grants.

Well your AI summary did not wrap it up. According to my AI summary, the best arguments for keeping USAID are the following.

The best arguments for keeping the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) center on national security, economic benefits, and humanitarian leadership. While foreign aid is often debated, foreign policy experts, military leaders, and economists generally support USAID for several key reasons:

1. Advancing National Security (Soft Power)The "Three Ds" of Foreign Policy: National security relies on Defense, Diplomacy, and Development. USAID handles development, preventing conflicts before they require costly military intervention.Stabilizing Fragile States: USAID funding helps counter violent extremism, poverty, and lawlessness in unstable regions, making it harder for terrorist groups to recruit.Countering Global Rivals: Programs counter the growing influence of geopolitical rivals like China and Russia. If the U.S. withdraws aid, other nations step in to build strategic dependencies.

2. Boosting the U.S. Economy, Creating New Markets: Developing nations that receive aid often become future trading partners. As their economies grow, they buy more American goods and services.Supporting American Jobs: A large percentage of USAID commodities (like agricultural goods and medical supplies) and technical expertise are purchased directly from U.S. companies and farmers.

3. Cost-Effectiveness: A Tiny Fraction of the Budget: Foreign aid accounts for less than 1% of the total U.S. federal budget, contrary to the common public perception that it consumes a massive portion of federal spending.
Preventative Savings: Investing in global health security (like pandemic prevention) is vastly cheaper than managing the economic and human costs of a global outbreak reaching U.S. shores.

4. Global Health and Humanitarian Leadership Saving Millions of Lives: Through programs like PEPFAR (for HIV/AIDS) and malaria initiatives, USAID has saved millions of lives globally, generating immense international goodwill toward the American people. Disaster Response: As the world's primary responder to natural disasters, USAID projects American values of generosity and leadership on the global stage.

But yeah I suppose the arguments only make sense if you can see people that are not you having an intrinsic value.

@kmax87 said
Well your AI summary did not wrap it up. According to my AI summary, the best arguments for keeping USAID are the following.

The best arguments for keeping the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) center on national security, economic benefits, and humanitarian leadership. While foreign aid is often debated, foreign policy experts, military leaders, a ...[text shortened]... pose the arguments only make sense if you can see people that are not you having an intrinsic value.

All you are saying is that some foreign aid programs can produce worthwhile results. You don't seem to tell me why that requires the USA to be a permanent federal agency. Get real.
And it is not as successful as you think it is. I look this up. We have spent $1.2 billion on about 470 projects intended to counter Chinese influence. None of them did any good. I would not call that immeasurable result by your standards.
Then you say that developing countries might someday become our customers, but that does not mean foreign aid is the best way to create those markets. Investments and private Enterprise can create markets without requiring us to finance them, you silly goose. None of you posters ever exhibit any knowledge of economics to me.
Just because something is one percent of the budget it's not an argument to keep it. Geez. (a billion here a billion there...dont you ever get it?!). Hell, that logic would say it is OK to spend another 1% at the gas pump. Follow me here....1% of the $7 Diesel is ONE CENT!!!! Cant wait to tell Sonhouse that you countenance that!!!!
As to Humanitarian considerations, "The Program saves lives' does not lead to "USAID must continue!"
And get off your high horse about intrinsic value. This is a disagreement about government spending and institutional effectiveness… Not a question about someone's morality. You socialist think globally, and I am thinking about the United States of America, the greatest country in the world. All of this should tell you how we got this way.
It would be fine with you and MB, et al, to cash everything in and spread it all over the globe. That is truly what you people think. Be a pansy or be an American. America has saved a lot more lives than you give them credit for when you look at the global world.
Now I will go tell Sonhouse that you think 1% is no big deal when buying diesel.

@sonhouse said
JESUS H CHRIST, You think we don't KNOW why fuel is so high? ARE YOU THAT FKING STUPID? Oh yeah I almost forgot, you think Trump is the greatest POTUS in US History so in your addled mind Trump does NOTHING wrong, and the sad part is you can NEVER admit any corruption from Trump, now getting MULTIPLE BILLIONS in grift and YOU never talk about that ONLY you want us to say ho ...[text shortened]... up and FARMERS ARE GOING BANKRUPT BECAUSE THEY CANNOT AFFORD FERTILIZER which comes through Hourmuz.

Man, you sure place a lot of stock in those Journal Entries being a Fellllloonnnny.
And all the other tnings abkout this very busy successful president....Yoour pantiea are all wadded up.
Anyway glad you did not put hin 8ih Jai!!! That means Kamal would have addressed the Globe at the UN yesterday. Brrrrrr. Close your eyes and think a bout it. "President Harris Strengthens Ties With Euro Allies!!!"

See my post above where I straighten KMAX out about USAID>
I love my analogy to Diesel. Kmax says USAID is ONLY 1% of the budget!!!!
Well, then (refrence your $7 diesel), One Percent of $7.00 is ONE PENNY.
So quit copmplaing about the cost of Diesel,,,,,,it is only a penny per gallon out of your pocket!!!!
Or write to Kmax hwo wrong he is !!! Tell him 1% adds up to a LOT of money!

@AverageJoe1 said
All you are saying is that some foreign aid programs can produce worthwhile results. You don't seem to tell me why that requires the USA to be a permanent federal agency. Get real.
And it is not as successful as you think it is. I look this up. We have spent $1.2 billion on about 470 projects intended to counter Chinese influence. None of them did any good. I would not c ...[text shortened]... global world.
Now I will go tell Sonhouse that you think 1% is no big deal when buying diesel.

Geez Louise you sound like a MAGA farmer.

@kmax87 said
Geez Louise you sound like a MAGA farmer.

No, more like a sound economist.

@AverageJoe1 said
No, more like a sound economist.

You might still get that career in standup!

@kmax87 said
You might still get that career in standup!

One of us would qualify. Sorry to spell all that out to you, but I was really writing to Sunhouse. I think he follows me.!!!!

@AverageJoe1 said
Best argument FOR ending USAID.

Don't write me, please, I would just show you this. Please.
This should wrap it up;\\

AI Overview The most common argument for ending or dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is that taxpayer-funded foreign assistance should be strictly aligned with core national interests rather than global or h ...[text shortened]... the agency point to bureaucratic bloat, mismanagement, and redundant or misallocated foreign grants.

OF FKING COURSE you would want the end of USAID NO FKING MATTER HOW GOOD IT WAS FOR OUR REPUTATION AND GOOD WILL, and of course you will repeat every fking sick ass word your LORD Trump says, BTW his polls are now UNDER 30%, so for you that just means there are a LOT of stupid people out there.

@AverageJoe1 said
Man, you sure place a lot of stock in those Journal Entries being a Fellllloonnnny.
And all the other tnings abkout this very busy successful president....Yoour pantiea are all wadded up.
Anyway glad you did not put hin 8ih Jai!!! That means Kamal would have addressed the Globe at the UN yesterday. Brrrrrr. Close your eyes and think a bout it. "President Harris ...[text shortened]... our pocket!!!!
Or write to Kmax hwo wrong he is !!! Tell him 1% adds up to a LOT of money!

USAID was LESS than one % of our budget so YOU and your LORD Trump and that OTHER creep Muskrat, all against good will or saving lives, so you don't even want to save AMERICAN lives, one MILLION died from Covid BECAUSE Trump downplayed it for MONTH AFTER MONTH when he was told as early as February it was going to be a pandemic and OF COURSE Trump, NEVER into taking advice JUST LIKE THE FKING POS IRAN WAR so he goes stick a UV light up your ass, kills covid in MINUTES. What a FKING POS THING TO SAY and I saw that lady doctor right behind him and the expression on her face said why the FK am I here.

Don't even TRY to say YEAH well he got that fast track thing going sure but after a fking MILLION people were dead and repeating that now, near one million dead in Africa because of the end of USAID so now blood on his hands is getting close to HITLERS record of 6 million Jews killed. RIght now the death count from covid in the US and starvation in Africa 100% due to Trump and MustRAT killed USAID and out of that FIRST million dead from Covid, his playing dead for nearly a fking YEAR means he is reponsable for the deaths of at least HALF of those AMERICANS dead and now ALL of the 700,000 deaths SO FAR in africa. History is ALREADY not kind to Trump because REAL people KNOW just how much of a CREEP, a GRIFTER now gotten several BILLIONS directly into his pocket and YOU FKING ASSSHOLE YOU ARE REFUSE TO EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE his grift and OUT RIGHT FRAUD, which BTW he LOST TWO BUSINESSES because of fraud PROVEN in court and it cost him some 25 MILLION in restitution. For you HO FKING HUM.

Trump is a FELON, and a FKING TRAITOR who would be in jail EXCEPT for being POTUS, Supreme court gave him near 100% immunity as long as he is POTUS but guess what, IT WILL CATCH UP TO HIM, TOO FKING LATE.

@sonhouse said
USAID was LESS than one % of our budget so YOU and your LORD Trump and that OTHER creep Muskrat, all against good will or saving lives, so you don't even want to save AMERICAN lives, one MILLION died from Covid BECAUSE Trump downplayed it for MONTH AFTER MONTH when he was told as early as February it was going to be a pandemic and OF COURSE Trump, NEVER into taking advice JU ...[text shortened]... m near 100% immunity as long as he is POTUS but guess what, IT WILL CATCH UP TO HIM, TOO FKING LATE.

I got the part that he is a felon, I saw it on the news few months ago, but everything else you say, though, is not so factual, it is mostly ranting and raving, which no one on the forum really takes in. You need to give everyone something to chew on. Here’s a good example; ask us all how long oil was over $100 a barrel during the administrations of Biden and Obama.(the answer is 1000 days , but don’t tell anybody, let’s let them guess). Under trump, only 60 days. You have a difficult time with perspective. Anyway, isn’t it refreshing to read something from someone, in this case average Joe, that is a fact. Can you imagine having to read me if I were ranting and raving about what I think about Kamala? When I do write about her and AOC, who will be running for president, I will state a fact. You do not.
Grifter?? Trump a grifter? Tell us how so, fact-man.

@sonhouse said
USAID was LESS than one % of our budget so YOU and your LORD Trump and that OTHER creep Muskrat, all against good will or saving lives, so you don't even want to save AMERICAN lives, one MILLION died from Covid BECAUSE Trump downplayed it for MONTH AFTER MONTH when he was told as early as February it was going to be a pandemic and OF COURSE Trump, NEVER into taking advice JU ...[text shortened]... m near 100% immunity as long as he is POTUS but guess what, IT WILL CATCH UP TO HIM, TOO FKING LATE.

Sonhouse is correct! I was wrong saying USAID cost over 1%. I was thinking Foreign Aid, which I find to be 1.3%. USAId was a separate free money, from our taxpayers to god knows where………
Sonhouse seems to like foreign aid though , because , it pays for sex changes and parrot studies in Somalia, as well as Tran development. Go Sonhouse. My granny is really hungry some days, she could use some government money. I won’t help her because I have to tell her to be self reliant!!L

@AverageJoe1 said
I got the part that he is a felon, I saw it on the news few months ago, but everything else you say, though, is not so factual, it is mostly ranting and raving, which no one on the forum really takes in. You need to give everyone something to chew on. Here’s a good example; ask us all how long oil was over $100 a barrel during the administrations of Biden and Obama.(the a ...[text shortened]... ent, I will state a fact. You do not.
Grifter?? Trump a grifter? Tell us how so, fact-man.

Like I said, you REFUSE to even ACKNOWLEDGE the FACT JACK he lost two business because he was GRIFTING TEENAGERS who just wanted a college education so went with Trump university and Charity BOTH shut down by the government AND fined him 25 MILLION in restitution and you think Trump is NOT corrupt? That is the THIRD court case involving TRUMP fraud you may remember the 1974 court case where he refused to rent his properties to blacks and got stung in court for it. THEN he became POTUS and the REAL grifts started and I went over each one and you again refuse to even talk about it, just going FAKE NEWS ASSSHOLE

@AverageJoe1 said
I got the part that he is a felon, I saw it on the news few months ago, but everything else you say, though, is not so factual, it is mostly ranting and raving, which no one on the forum really takes in. You need to give everyone something to chew on. Here’s a good example; ask us all how long oil was over $100 a barrel during the administrations of Biden and Obama.(the a ...[text shortened]... ent, I will state a fact. You do not.
Grifter?? Trump a grifter? Tell us how so, fact-man.

Maybe you could listen to a Republican Congressman : Jim Himes, laying Trump's economy bare....

YouTube?si=gJSEMeFAI54N-LjS

@kmax87 said
Maybe you could listen to a Republican Congressman : Jim Himes, laying Trump's economy bare....

https://youtu.be/kssYGkEW-Sg?si=gJSEMeFAI54N-LjS

You are drifting.
Can you write for yourself. The debate judges do not allow videos. If they did, the debaters could stay home and send a plebe with a video machine.

@Sprogladog said
Well there you go, everything is just fine and dandy. if everybody is doing so well then the republicans should walk the mid-terms, right?

No one said that ‘everybody’ is doing well. Of course the guy that has been mowing my golf course for over 40 years is doing well….says he has had a great life, so everything’s relative, little fellow. Pitiful assessment on your part, really.
Anyway, to respond to your question properly, I hereby submit that the AVERAGE income has risen greatly….. that is median average… and that is what you liberal socialists have a problem with. Do you want everyone to make same amount of money and the same exact lifestyle and bore each other to death??? By ‘average’ , dependents , such as yourself, consider average to be that everyone should actually’BE’ average! That equates Average =Loser.

LOOK at THESE Numbers!

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2026/09/median-household-income.html