The price of goodwill
On the same day that Eric Milton signs for $90 million, the U.S., Japan, and U.K. pledge a combined $93 million to aid recovery from a disaster likely to claim at least 100,000 lives.
Seems about right.
Ok, I don't mean to be unfair to Eric Milton. His salary is wholly independent of whatever amount we decide to spend on saving the world. Whether or not he deserves $90 million is a topic meant for a pure baseball discussion.
Allow me to make another comparison then:
Tax dollars spent to build an irrigation system to serve Billionaire Paul Allen's golf course:
$36 million
U.S. pledge to aid victims of the recent tsunami tragedy:
$35 million
Get the point?
I suppose plenty of folks would say, “What obligation do we have? Who would give us even $35 million if we needed it? After all, we have already pledged more than any other country.”
I have 2 responses. The first is an appeal to emotion. That one is obvious so I won’t get into it here. The second appeal is to logic. Actually, the logical response is obvious to me as well, but based on the responses from our leaders, I think it’s over their heads.
I think we can all agree that the reputation of the U.S., rightly or wrongly, has suffered around the world in the last few years. I’ve recently spent time in both Asia and Europe and can attest that there is a strong undercurrent of distrust and disgust for the U.S. government and its policies. While I do not intend in any way to minimize the suffering caused by the earthquake or color it as anything other than the tragedy that it is, our leaders must recognize opportunity within the tragedy for the U.S. to reacquire some of the goodwill that has been so foolishly squandered.
We have been given an opportunity to show the world that our intentions are indeed noble. We have been given an opportunity to prove that we intend to act as benefactor to all those who wish to live free from oppression and poverty. And here’s the most important part….we have been given the unique opportunity to do this in the part of the world experiencing the fastest expansion of the Islam religion.
So how does our government respond? By reaching into the couch cushions, picking out all the quarters, and handing the rest over. Maybe folks don’t care that it might be the right thing, dare I say the moral thing, to commit the resources necessary to secure immediate relief, pledge the resources needed to help rebuild lives, and even provide the tsunami warning system that is lacking in that region. But even if you don’t care, you must admit that doing all those things is a prudent investment in our own security, and much more cost effective than another batch of bunker busters.
*- After I first made this post, I noticed that I'm not the only making this connection. Check out another viewpoint,
here. Also, I've been reminded that the cost of Bush's inauguration is estimated to reach
$40 million. Nice.
4 Comments:
I'm not sure that J is seeing the point here. Aside from the fact that he's a right-wing zealot, I think that kopec is simply pointing out that we have an opportunity to do some good here, and we're missing out on that opportunity. Sure, the US is going to give more money, but the point is that we should have given it up front. $35 million is a joke. The US defense budget (not the total budget, the budget for defense only) is $417 billion before add-ons. The rounding error on savings from the recent F-22 cancellations will be at least $100 million. It's about time that the US stood up and actually EXCEEDED expectations once during the Bush presidency. Yes, we're going to give more, but instead of kind of half-assing it and doing it later, let's show some leadership and give more than expected. Let's lead the world, as opposed to doing it cautiously.
Kopec also makes a good point about helping out those that believe in Islam. We're spending billions per month in Iraq trying to force freedom on people who ideologically believe differently than we do. We can start influencing these people at a grass roots level with a much smaller donation of $100 million, look like heroes, and get benefits from that.
The US deficit point you made was poor at best. The needle on the deficit number isn't going to be moved 1 inch by increasing a donation by $50 or $100 million. The US deficit is almost $500 billion. Let's see, an extra $50 million on top of that is .01%. People see $35 million and think it's huge, when it's actually an insult. Major private donors in the US will trump $35 million pretty soon.
I'd suggest you do a bit of real research into your figures and rationale before you start criticizing those with good ideas and initiatives. I agree that the US is the greatest nation in the world, but I've also been to Europe this year as well as Africa, and the disdain for our politics (not our citizens) is palpable. We have a chance here to do something unexpected and outside the box, and we're missing it completely.
--D
J:
I'm rather flabbergasted by your comments. You obviously put a lot of stock in the rhetoric of our elected officials. As such, I would have suspected that you would agree with them that we are in a life and death struggle to win the hearts and minds of Muslims around the world.
We should have 2 objective in the war on terrorism:
#1 - kill the people who already want to terrorize us. (We spend plenty of money on this, though our aim is sometimes a bit askew.)
#2 - encourage an environment whereby fewer people will be converted into terrorists
We have been presented with an incredibly cost effective means of achieving objective #2.
It's a concept that General George C Marshall understood 60 years ago. Why can't George W Bush understand it today?
I love J's comment that I must have no understanding of accounting, yet doesn't really explain why. Statements without basis of fact...welcome to the Bush USA! I backed up my statements with numeric facts, why don't you? I'm a Chartered Financial Analyst with a business degree...how about you? GED's don't count, I might add.
As for your assertion that I have a problem with basic democracy, you working under the assumption that the US is a functional democracy, which you can make the argument it is not.
Actually, the more I read your post, the more I realize that you have no idea what you're talking about. Germany being envied? Please...the unemployment rate is more than 10%. You make a lot of first grade level arguments, with nothing but right wing rhetoric to back it up. It's not worth my time.
Having said that, I do enjoy the Batting Third blog, I find it an interesting read. Post more, bkopec!
Enjoyed a lot! »
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