Aid To Egypt

The sequestration has been signed into law and all government agencies have had their budgets cut. Staff members in critical positions from law enforcement to USDA inspectors to teachers at military schools are being furloughed. The United States government is trillions of dollars in debt and that debt continues to grow just to pay the bills. For all intensive purposes we as a nation are broke. If this was a corporation, private company or a private individual they would be in bankruptcy court. I have my ideas how to fix the problem and so do a lot of people that are a lot smarter than I am. But this is not the main reason for this posting. I am in total disagreement with our present leaders forking of $250 million in aid to Egypt while we are in such a financial crisis.

According to an Associated Press report dated 4 March, 2013 “U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday rewarded Egypt for President Mohammed Morsi's pledges of political and economic reforms by releasing $250 million in American aid to support the country's future as a democracy." We gave them this money on the pledge that they will do something, A PLEDGE. I don’t know about anyone else, but I have never been given anything before I earned it. I must work before I get my paycheck. I have never had a job that paid me in advance. When I raised my children they got rewards for doing what is right, not the other way around. The article went on to say “Egypt is trying to meet conditions to close on a $4.8 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund. An agreement would unlock more of the $1 billion in U.S. assistance promised by President Barack Obama last year and set to begin flowing with Kerry's announcement”. A billion from the U.S., hello, we are placing government workers on furlough and we are giving money (that we borrowed) away on a pledge. Something about this is just not right.

I am not an isolationist, and I understand the need for foreign diplomacy. I understand the need to assist other countries in establishing stable governments friendly to America. I understand it is essential to our national security and international trade. But, there is a time to say enough is enough and this is the time. I say that the first thing to be cut and frozen during sequestration is foreign aid. We just can’t afford it right now. I am afraid that if we don’t we will be the ones relying of foreign aid in the very near future.