While a lot of people still think of Mexico related to illegal immigration to the US, it’s actually the nations of Central America that have seen the biggest upsurge over the last few decades. That’s because life in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras is pretty damned awful — rampant poverty, crime, violence …
I mean, folk tramping hundreds of miles north to the US aren’t just doing it on a lark, or because they admire our cable TV. These are desperate people, driven by desperate situations, fleeing north to seek asylum from the hell-holes their countries have come.
So, of course, what is Trump’s response? How is he proposing to help the residents of these hemispheric neighbors, in countries that have been often ravaged by American diplomatic, commercial, and military actions over the past century-plus? How is he looking to provide the assistance to these nations so that people don’t feel the economic or even existential need to flee?
The United States is cutting off aid to the Northern Triangle, otherwise known as the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the State Department told CNN Saturday, one day after President Donald Trump said they had “set up” migrant caravans for entry into the United States.
“We were paying them tremendous amounts of money. And we’re not paying them anymore. Because they haven’t done a thing for us. They set up these caravans,” Trump said Friday.
[…] According to the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, comprised of retired diplomats, military leaders and members of Congress, aid programs in the three countries are working to address the “root causes of violence” in order to “promote opportunity and security for their citizens.” Officials would not say exactly how much money would be affected by the directive with some of it likely already spent. Between last year and this year, about $1.3 billion was allocated to the region with the vast majority of it going to those three countries, according to a study from the Congressional Research Service.
Because apparently foreign aid is “paying” people.
“They set up these caravans,” Trump said at an event in Canal Point, Florida, on Friday. “In many cases, they put their worst people in the caravan; they’re not going to put their best in. They get rid of their problems. And they march up here, and then they’re coming into their country; we’re not letting them in our country.”
It’s not even questioning whether the aid being given is being used effectively. Trump’s simply convinced (or wants to convince us) that we “paid them” but have been, instead betrayed, and that the folk fleeing to the US aren’t actually, um, fleeing people, but instead are part of an organized effort by these countries to send “their problem” people to the US.
Yeesh.
Do you want to know more?
- State Department says US cutting off aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – CNNPolitics
- Trump cuts aid for Central American countries, threatens border shutdown – ThinkProgress
When you see yourself as a mobster and the rest of the world as marks, it’s what you do.
I’m glad to see that he is doing his best to make the world a safer place for China as it steps in to fill the void in all the “shithole” countries he has abandoned to their largess.
Why should he continue to fund these countries? The money obviously hasn’t gotten to the people that need it the most. But, if you are curious, one would ask, why a caravan? Why not cross like all the other over the years, right?
I believe Gallup did a poll Central and South Americans and asked them how many would leave their countries. 27% of the population said they would want to migrate here, which is about 20 million. Do you believe we have the resources, i.e. schools, housing, etc… to support such an influx? Here’s the article: https://news.gallup.com/poll/245255/750-million-worldwide-migrate.aspx.
But, most funds that are sent to Socialist or Communist Countries, end up in the leaders or bureaucrats pockets, not the citizens.
So, with that statement, I’d like to ask you a few questions. What is your fascination with Socialism and why do you think it is a better form of Government? Can you name a Socialist Country that you’d like to see the US mirror? And, lastly, do you believe Socialism allows every citizen the same chance at success?
@Michael – It’s not like we’re talking sending gold ingots to the presidential palace here. The programs were described as both aid programs and programs targeted to improve economic conditions to reduce the poverty and criminal violence that leads people to take the journey of literally thousands of miles, through lands themselves that are dangerous.
I’m not at all surprised a lot of people say that, given their druthers, they’d move to the US. We’re a wealthy and successful country, for all our flaws. On the other hand, the same survey said that 14% of people in “Northern America” (I presume that’s the US and Canada) would, themselves, move to another country if they could, and that was identified as largely an increase in people who would leave the US. Even presuming the greater wealth and opportunity to emigrate from those two countries, we don’t see that level of emigration. There’s a vast difference between what people answer to those sorts of questions in the abstract and what they actually do when they can.
But beyond that is the question of, how many people could immigrate to the US? How many can we “support”? I don’t know the answer to that question. I mean, even if we’re talking about 20 million, we’re not talking about people coming here and solely drawing on resources. Are there 20 million jobs available. Could we afford to increase our population by 6% on a rapid basis?
I’d say that’s generally true of autocratic countries in general, regardless of their economy. That said, what makes you think that El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala are “Socialist or Communist Countries”?
As to “socialism”, define your terms. Are we talking about the government owning all production of wealth? Centralized planning of the economy? Are we talking about robust social services? Are we talking about a progressive tax code? Are talking about Social Security? Medicare? The 40-hour work week? Labor unions? All of those have been called “socialism” at some point or another. Do I think some of those things are advantageous? Yes. Do I think some of those things are disadvantageous? Yes.
Also, “socialism” isn’t a form of government, it’s an economic model. You can have autocratic socialism. You can have democratic socialism. The US has socialistic aspects to its economy and its public policy. So do Canada, the UK — pretty much the entire First World has a degree of socialism in their economy. The debate is not over pure “socialism” vs pure “capitalism,” but matters of degree and specific programs and commitments to the society as a whole. In the US, we have a societal commitment to every child getting an education K-12. That’s socialism. Other countries have a societal commitment to every person getting some level of medical care. That’s socialism, too.
I don’t know how to measure or determine if any economic system “allows every citizen the same chance at success.” We certainly don’t have that in the United States, demonstrated the increasing disparity in wealth and what wealth is able to buy in corruption and favorable treatment. Someone born into wealth has a tremendous advantage over someone born into poverty; movement between economic classes in the US is much lower than most people think. Not by any means that the US is the worst in this, but we are hardly the goal to strive toward either.
A different question might also be of value: does the economic system under question best model the sentiments of Leviticus 19:18, Deut 10:17-19, Deut 14:29, Jeremiah 22:3, and Matthew 25:31-46? Does the system care for those who need care?
I will start my reply off this my insight into what I believe is a dialog, but in reality, is far from that truth. I read your prose and yes (what a shock) don’t see things the way you want things to be or how we perceive them. I do believe that if I wrote, “the sky sure was blue today”, you’d correct me and begin to lecture me on the fact that the sky really isn’t blue. You’d give me different quotes or scientific facts that what I’m seeing isn’t really blue, only see it that way because I’m not enlightened to the facts.
So, with that said, you do seem to quote a lot of different sources. I could do the same thing too. You do have a tendency to belittle one’s argument by making an outrageous quote like, “It’s not like we are sending them gold ingots to the presidential palace.” No, you believe that all assistance, whether financial or humanitarian aid, goes directly to the people that need it the most. You are so naive.
14% of North Americans would leave, yet, you fail to mention the 700 million that want to come here from around the world. I guess they don’t get CNN or read the NY times, because who in their right mind would want to come to such a racist, bigoted,etc…The 14% is up from 10% that North American’s want to leave. But, once again, we don’t know. You just have to let me know that the sky isn’t blue.
Then, is response to how many could we support, you don’t know the answer to the question, which helps to prove my point. If you don’t know, why be for open borders or no legal immigration standards or laws? I assume in Lone Tree-I assume that’s where you live because you have the weather posted-really doesn’t have a border issue. And, if you do live there, I’d love to know the mix of nationalities. Even though we are the wealthiest Nation ever, we can’t have everyone come in that wants to come here. Did you ever stop to wonder or out of curiosity how all these people are surviving a 1500 mile journey? How are they eating if they can’t feed themselves in their home lands?
If you look at the history of the world and do a little research about economic models and systems-this was my major-just like your parents-you’ll see that the US has become the wealthiest Nation due to it’s economic system. The US has taken more people out of poverty and off the teat of government assistance than any other country. You make the assumption that just because someone is born into wealth, they have it made. Well, the wealth might not have been created by them, but, it was created by our economic system. Which, today, still allows anyone willing to work hard and smart to succeed. Only you might feel the deck is stacked against you. Or, maybe you’re one of the lucky ones that was born into wealth. I don’t know.
But, I do know that what my wife and I have has been from our working hard, smart and longer than those around us. We don’t work the 8 hour a day jobs. If you put in the minimum, you’ll get the minimum and don’t be upset when someone else is willing to do more than you to succeed. I didn’t have anyone pay for my education at UC Davis. I worked two jobs. Maybe that’s the difference between us.
The reason we have socialist policies and entitlements is solely due to the Federal Tax System. Without that, you wouldn’t have any of those programs and gosh, how did one survive prior to them? Maybe the family? Education, that’s a little hard to put solely of the good graces of socialism. It just make sense, that is if you are actually going to educate them in math, reading, writing and civics and not indoctrinate them.
A government run economy isn’t efficient , just go to the DMV or any other bureaucracy and see how well they work. You want efficiency, come run a business were we don’t have taxes to support our errors and mistakes.
Lastly, once again, I find it odd that you quote the Bible to try to prove your point when you chastise those that use the Bible to prove their narrow right winged bigoted views.
All of those passages are fine, but you really should read the chapters and verses before and after them. You can quote it all you want, but if your actions don’t match your words, then it’s trivial. I’m sure you do your share of volunteering at the homeless shelters, Loaves and Fishes or build home with Habitat for Humanity. That’s putting your belief into action and not waiting around for some rich guy or government to tax the rich guy so there is no poor any more.
I’ll leave you with these verses to find. “you’ll always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.” And, why are you so concerned with the splinter in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the wooden beam in yours.
I’m going outside right now, the sky is really blue and I’m going to thank God for all my blessings, trials, gifts,my wife, the USA and the blue sky.