“I came in like a wrecking ball”

When I was young and single, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, for a few years I worked for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, DC and overseas. In the past week, Elon Musk and Donald Trump have taken a wrecking ball to the agency which has been administering US foreign aid since 1961, claiming that it is “run by a bunch of radical lunatics.”

As Maureen Dowd wrote in her opinion piece last week in the New York Times: “Tom Stoppard in his play about infidelity The Real Thing said: ‘To marry one actress is unfortunate. To marry two is simply asking for it.’ Here’s a political corollary: To elect one Emperor of Chaos is unfortunate. To let two run the government is simply asking for it.“

Reasonable people can agree that some streamlining and restructuring may benefit USAID which comprised 1.2% of the Federal budget last year. However, the way that this has unfolded isn’t right or legal. Process matters. Thousands of public servants are being terminated without legal notice, leaving taxpayer dollars unmanaged and critical programs suddenly cut off.

“America First” politicians and voters who question the value of any foreign aid have been attacking USAID with distorted and untrue statistics. Musk baselessly and gleefully called it a “criminal organization.” This past week, I have watched the grotesque spectacle of one of the richest men in the world literally taking bread out of the mouths of the world’s poorest children in the name of “efficiency.”

So, do we have an ethical responsibility as Americans to help those in extreme poverty or should we focus exclusively on America’s needy? Most religious and spiritual teaching say that we do, citing the human dignity of all people as an expression of empathy and shared humanity. “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions ...” (1 John 3:16-18) One of the Five Pillars of Islam is Zakat or giving a portion of one’s wealth to the poor. And in Judaism, there is a moral obligation or Tzedakah to support the needy.

Even if you don’t believe that we do have an ethical obligation, there are strategic and self-serving reasons to give anyway. First, despite recent misinformation that foreign countries receive only ten cents on the dollar and the rest of the funds are squandered, most of the funds were distributed through international organizations and companies, many of which are based in the US, to spend on food, medicine and other assistance. In fact, in 2024, more than $1 billion of USAID went to American small businesses.

Second, we don’t have the luxury in this interconnected world to “live and let die.” Poverty and economic despair fuel instability, extremism and mass migration. As we learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, contagious diseases and other emerging health threats don’t recognize borders.

Finally, countries that receive US assistance may be more likely to align with American interests. If we don’t step in as leaders, the Chinese will be there with their “Belt and Road” initiative which has expanded their power in developing countries.

If you care about the poorest of the poor, or about America’s place in the world, reach out to your representatives. Process matters.

More details here from the Pew Research Center https://pewrsr.ch/4hilaox