Foreign Aid to China... huh?

That's right, the United States sends millions of dollars over to China each year in foreign aid.

What? You didn't know this? Well, you should because it's your money they're using to improve infrastructure and get farmers on the internet.

You may ask, "Why are our lawmakers so worried about raising our taxes at home when they just send it all overseas?" Then I would say, "That's a fair question, maybe an email or phone call to your legislators is in order." Then you might say, "Nah, it's not worth all that." Or, you might say, "An email isn't too difficult to send." In which case, you would be right. Especially when I've already found a place where you can look up your representatives' contact information. You might also try your senators here.

Back to my point, Americans' representatives have agreed together that China needs their money back in the form of a gift. They send us money by buying our debt and we thank them kindly, begin paying interest on it, then we give them some back as a gift. Hmmm... I've never done that. I've never gone to the bank that holds my mortgage and handed them some extra cash to make repairs to their building or to improve their internet speed. Have you? Maybe you don't own a home, but have you done this for your landlord? Maybe they need a new cell phone or computer. I'm not convinced I would enjoy doing that. Are you? Why do we do it?

Would it surprise you to learn that the US Government has hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contracts with state-owned Chinese corporations? Well, be surprised no more. It's true. It's also nauseating. We're trying to get out of debt by raising taxes, cutting services (which won't get any opposition from me) and even printing dollars out of thin air while sending China the money we borrowed with interest attached, just because we'd like to see the farmers online more often. Seems perfectly reasonable, right?

Nope.

-Matthew Nielsen
IVLG