Thursday, March 27, 2025

USAID

How Much the U.S. Spent on Foreign Aid—and Where It Went

The Trump administration has largely dismantled USAID and brought American assistance to a near-halt

The U.S. Agency for International Development was responsible for around two-thirds of U.S. foreign assistance. ashraf shazly/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

 *******************************

The U.S. was the world’s largest funder of foreign aid for decades—propping up education, health services and human rights in developing countries and supporting the militaries of strategic allies.

Programs often associated with foreign aid, such as humanitarian assistance, made up a large slice of the total. But significant funding also went to strengthening militaries in allied nations and helping governments phase out fossil fuels or contain the production of opioids that could end up in the U.S.

 

President Trump ordered a freeze on much of that spending for 90 days. Then, on Jan. 28, Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a waiver for lifesaving humanitarian assistance supposed to allow projects such as field hospitals in war zones to resume. Administration officials say they will assess whether the U.S. assistance is in line with the president’s “America First” agenda.

Aid as a share of each donor’s economy

The U.S. spent nearly $65 billion on foreign aid in 2023, the most recent year for which internationally comparable data is available. In dollar terms, that was more than any other rich country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

But as a percentage of its economy, the U.S. lagged behind countries such as Japan, the U.K. and France.

USAID handled the most aid of any U.S. agency

The U.S. Agency for International Development, which was established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, was responsible for around two-thirds of U.S. foreign assistance. 

The administration’s move to dismantle USAID has left big questions over who will oversee whatever programs are allowed to resume after the 90-day freeze.

Much of the remaining foreign aid came from the State Department, including sanitation and clinics in refugee camps and military assistance. The Health and Human Services Department monitored and helped contain dangerous diseases such as Ebola abroad. The U.S. Treasury funded contributions to international financial institutions such as the World Bank and provided technical assistance to finance ministries in developing countries to prevent debt crises.

How U.S. foreign aid is distributed

A large proportion of U.S. aid ended up in overseas communities via the United Nations and other multilateral agencies, as well as American and international nonprofits such as Mercy Corps, CARE or the International Rescue Committee that give grants to smaller, local organizations.


 

Note: For fiscal years 2021–24 and excludes military aid
Source: Center for Global Development

Aid amounts depend on need and strategic importance

Low-income countries suffering large humanitarian crises due to conflicts, such as Sudan, Ethiopia or the Democratic Republic of Congo, have been key targets for American aid. But need wasn’t the only determining factor for how much U.S. aid a country received. Allocation decisions were often tied to a nation’s importance to American national security and global priorities.

Until Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Israel, a high-income country, was the top recipient of U.S. assistance for many years and remained in the number two spot in the 2024 fiscal year. Jordan and Egypt, two other key allies in the Middle East, were also among the top five overall recipients. Since 2022, Ukraine had been getting far more U.S. aid than any other country, even when military assistance is excluded.

 


Africa’s share of total U.S. foreign aid and the proportion of aid that went to low-income countries, meanwhile, declined over the past decade.

The real-world impact of aid programs

Some of the clearest evidence of the impact of American aid comes from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or Pepfar. Since it was created in 2003 by President George W. Bush, Pepfar has been credited with saving some 26 million lives, mostly in African countries. New transmissions have fallen and, thanks to U.S.-funded antiretroviral drugs, HIV is no longer a death sentence but a chronic disease that can be managed. 

The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, or UNAIDS, projects that by the end of the decade Pepfar would prevent an extra 5.2 million AIDS-related deaths and 6.4 million new infections. If Pepfar was discontinued, 460,000 more children would die of HIV-related causes by 2030 and 2.8 million more children will be orphaned by AIDS, according to another model.

 


U.S. funding for vaccines, nutrition and malaria prevention has contributed to a sharp decline in deaths among children under the age of five in developing nations. A 2022 study published in the journal Population Health Metrics, for instance, found that countries that received above-average funding from USAID saw under-five mortality reduced by 29 deaths per 1,000 live births. 

In other areas, U.S. assistance has been less successful. 

USAID and the State Department spent tens of millions of dollars in recent years training local militaries and supporting good governance in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso—three countries in Africa’s Sahel region where coups have ousted elected leaders and the new ruling juntas kicked out U.S. troops to forge closer ties with Russia.


 

 

vvv

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

These Are The Take-Home Messages Main Stream Americans

Briefly:

  • men in women's sports, including their showers
  • prevent the government from sending criminal element of illegal "immigrants" back to their home states
  • blank check for Zelenskyy (Ukraine) after several years -- and neither Ukraine nor Europe are trying to bring war to an end
  • continue with wasteful spending in Washington, e.g., funds for transgender farmers

And that's just a start.

 

Sunday, February 23, 2025

A Turn Toward Conservatism -- Trump -- Vance -- 2028 And Beyond -- February 23, 2025

A reader suggested, like the McKinley era, we could be headed for 12 - 16 years of conservatism.

My reply: 

Good morning, all

1. I will withhold judgement on the "McKinley" question until at least the mid-terms.

2. Under Biden, the pendulum simply swung too far left and now the pendulum is swinging back to the right. There's a huge possibility that the pendulum will now swing too far right, and the GOP could lose the US Senate and the US House in two years.

3. I have concerns  whether Congress will actually codify the vast number of executive orders signed by Trump. If the EOs, are not codified, then they are subject to being easily overturned.

4. I was disappointed to see the "bureaucratic response by the SecDOT regarding the California Bullet Train. He came out with a typical Bidenesque comment: we will do an audit. No, the response should have been: all federal money will be withheld from all California transportation projects -- including highways, interstates, seaports, airports -- until California itself provides an audit of the Bullet Train that is acceptable to the federal government.

5. That's my biggest concern: there are few folks like Trump and Vance who are willing to move very, very quickly, -- a take-no-prisoners, shoot-first-think-later mentality. Kristy Noem and Pete Hegseth might be exceptions. It will be interesting to see if Kash Patel moves 1,500 FBI agents out of Washington. And the list goes on. Even Trump is starting to waffle on tariffs. Waffling makes him look vulnerable.

6. It's going to be a fine needle to thread to institute huge tariffs without crashing the stock market (Walmart) and driving up inflation.

7. With regard to Williams McKinley, things are much, much different now than then:

   a.  the culture is much, much, much different; the two-sex-only theory is scientifically incorrect; banning obvious abuses in the sexual identify arena should be dealt with (no "xy" playing on "xx" sports after age 14, for example); but, after that, it gets squishy. I saw many examples of sexual identity issues while practicing as a pediatrician that were very legitimate;

   b. AI will have a huge impact and it hasn't even rally begun;

   c. streaming, podcasts, etc, change everything -- my wife and I live in two completely different political universes.

  d. the migration / immigration story is still being sorted out;

  e. Women's Rights have been pushed back to the pre-1960s in the eyes of many. Regardless of what side of the issue one is on, that's a fact: in the eyes of many the GOP is not a friend of Women's Rights. 

8. Those are national issues; we haven't even gotten to the international issues.

9. All it takes to turn everything in the opposite direction is a charismatic JFK to show up (it's not Pete Buttigieg), two more major civilian mid-air crashes, any major US military miss-step (a US submarine lost at sea or a major nuclear accident), and any change -- any change -- to social security.

10. So, I'm holding judgement until at least the midterms. And even then, at most, it might show a "trend," but it won't necessarily mean anything in four years.

Bruce

Friday, February 21, 2025

Chairman, Joint Chiefs Of Staff -- February 21, 2025

Of course, The New York Times is aghast.

Isn't it normal for all presidents to choose their own Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff?

See Joint Chiefs of Staff. All appointed by Biden.

Requires confirmation by the US Senate.

Current Chairman:

  • appointed by Biden after Trump 1.0's Chairman

Current chairman:

  • born in 1962 but exact date of birth not known? how does this happen; what shows up in his official documents?
  • 41 years active duty service; mandatory retirement, 30 years except for general officers
  • 63 years old; young by many standards, but 30-year officer would retire in mid-50s.
  • I'm not sure why he didn't offer his resignation when Trump was elected? That should practically be standard.
  • every entry regarding current chairman focuses on is ethnic background. At some point, it gets old, it gets tedious. 

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

The Fed -- JPow -- Trump Tariffs -- Liars And Hypocrites -- Wednesday -- February 19, 2025

 Link here.

In testimony over the past few weeks, when asked, Fed chair JPow consistently said that the Fed doesn't worry about "policy" when they (the Fed) considers and sets rates, and yet, here we are.

Either I'm misreading him or misheard or JPow is a liar, also. Like all the rest in Washington, DC. But I know he was asked about Trump's tariffs and he avoided answering the question.

Ukraine -- February 19, 2025

 

Ukraine. Mike Walatz, National Security Advisor, has it exactly right. Trump wants the war over. "Everyone" else, it seems, wants the war to continue. Again, Trump has a self-imposed 100-day deadline. I wouldn't bet against Trump on this one. Eminently qualified but wow, he has a tough story to sell the American public (most of whom have long gotten bored with this story). From wiki:

Michael George Glen Waltz, 51 years old, is an American politician, businessman, author, and former Army Special Forces officer who is the 29th and current U.S. National Security Advisor.
He previously served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 6th congressional district from 2019 to 2025.
He is a member of the Republican Party and is the first Army Special Forces soldier to be elected to the United States Congress. Waltz received four Bronze Stars while serving in the Special Forces during multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa.
He served in the Bush administration as a defense policy director in the Pentagon and as counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney. In 2018, Waltz won election to the House of Representatives, defeating former ambassador Nancy Soderberg and succeeded Ron DeSantis, who was elected the 46th governor of Florida that same year. He was re-elected in 2020, 2022, and 2024 with over 60% of the vote in each election.
Waltz served as chair of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness for the 118th United States Congress

"Ukraine start this." Folks are misreading Trump on this one.

Trump's Ukraine? Biden's Afghanistan?

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Trump -- SDNY -- Mayor Adams -- February 18, 2025

I've never had so much fun watching Trump play chess.

A federal judge is not going to rubber stamp Trump's request to drop case against NYC mayor Adams.

I assume this is a federal case; if so, Trump can pardon NYC mayor Adams. Link here.

So, let the federal judge do what he wants. 

Trump holds the trump card. LOL.