POURING MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN?

Poor countries come with hat in hand to America. the "I Promise Land," not to demand but just to make us understand if we don't treat them royally and loyally they may become our enemy. And even if we shell out now how will they respond when the money's gone?

When their well runs dry and we ask them to repay what they owe they'll moan, "We didn't know it was a loan. We assumed it was a donation to stave off the starvation of our booming population and pay for a vacation for the leaders of our nation."

It has been ever thus. It's more for them and less for us. Tax our people to the hilt so what our bombs destroyed can be rebuilt. Send them food, just park it and go. The black market is waiting to turn our flour into dough. To sell our greens and rice and beans to earn the green to buy the leaders new limousines.

Much of our aid, I'm afraid, is just good intent misspent that went south and wound up in the wrong mouth. And there's little left for the starving hordes on the street to eat.

But what can we do? I'm asking you. Ignore their need? Let them bleed? Don't send pills to cure their ills? Don't pay their doctor bills or fund their clinics? Just become a bunch of cynics, deny and let the nation die while their leaders bid their subjects goodbye and hightail it to a land of crooked banks where they say thanks and never ever ask or care where the millions came from. They just act dumb and that's OK in a land where crime does
pay in a very special way.

Hey! Hey! U. S. A. Pay! Pay! And get out of the way!