What Should We Do?

Yesterday I mentioned that Obama has sponsored a bill to send nearly a Trillion Dollars of our money to countries around the world. This is billed as doing something about global poverty, which sounds all well and good. What it's really about is redistribution of wealth. That is to say, spreading wealth around so that everyone has the same. This, of course, will only be the first step in the global equalization, there will be much more to follow, to be sure.

Let us be clear, this is not about bringing the rest of the world up to our level, that is to say, making the entire world the First World, rather it is meant to bring us down the the level of the rest of the world, that is to say, making us a Third World country. Regardless if this is intentional or not, but this course of action can ultimately lead to nothing else.

I guess the first question we should address is, as the more prosperous nation on Earth, do we have an obligation to help the rest of the world? Of course we do. I have no problem with that. What I do have a problem with is the idea that throwing money at these countries is going to be the answer. In fact, we know that it won't be the answer. Just sending money always makes things worse. Let's assume that some Warlord or dictator won't get ahold of the money and use it for his (or her) own dastardly deeds, which is a huge problem, but for now, let's assume that it's not. I'm sure you've heard the old axiom that says, "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day..." which is, of course, only the first half, but even this half is incomplete. This is true, but there's more to it, if you give a man a fish, you not only feed him for a day, you also ensure that he will come back to you for another fish tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and he will be dependant on you for the rest of his life. So, even if the money that Obama wants to spread around the world were going to do what he intends for it to do, we would do nothing more than to ensure that the rest of the world would become forever dependant on the US, which, of course, we can't afford.

So, what then should we do? Well, the second part of that Axiom holds the key. "Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime." You see, there is a reason why the US is the most prosperous nation on Earth, we are also the most Productive nation on Earth. And, let us not forget that we have been richly Blessed by God, but of course, we cannot force the world to do the things to make that happen. What we do have to offer though, is the ability to teach the rest of the world how to be productive. We can teach them how to do the things that they need to do to grow enough food, and to start producing things that they can export and bring money into their economies. I don't even mind if we help them to get started with some equipment and such, but the real key is education and hands on training. That is what we can do to help the poor countries. This will be real help, it will not make them dependant, and it will not break us in the process.