AMERICA: We can send money all over the world, but we can't take care of our own

[kpete]

Free health clinic aids hundreds in need
Victoria Colliver, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, April 10, 2011




Geneva Clay, 51, of San Leandro worked as a project manager and had health benefits before she was laid off in 2009. She had been waiting in line since 11 p.m. Friday and was number 282.

"We are the middle class. We are in need of health care because of the lack of jobs," she said, trying to keep warm until her number was called. "In this country, we shouldn't have to fight for medical coverage, we shouldn't have to fight to see a doctor. We can send money all over the world, but we can't take care of our own."

Clay was one of about 1,000 people expected to be seen on the first day of the huge, four-day health clinic organized by Remote Area Medical. RAM, a volunteer medical corps based in Tennessee, has been providing health clinics in underserved areas around the world since 1985 and has been offering them in this country since the mid-'90s.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/09/MND81ITGSR.DTL#ixzz1J8bZNncI

[Zoeisright]

1. Non-military foreign aid is 1/2 of 1% of the budget.

Cutting that would do absolutely nothing to the deficit, and would kill thousands of people in other countries. We should take care of our own by taxing the shit out of the rich.

http://one.org/blog/2011/02/18/foreign-aid-where-is-all-the-money-going/

[originalpckelly]

2. Exactly.

Cutting is not the solution.

[Lasher]

3. The issue is one of fairness to our own populace.

In 2009, for example, we gave Israel $2.4 billion in foreign aid. They can afford universal health care and we can't.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_foreign_aid

And please consider the 45,000 people who die in the US every year due to a lack of health insurance.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/09/17/us-usa-healthcare-deaths-idUSTRE58G6W520090917

[Daninmo]

5. question

I wonder how much foreign aid is given to other countries from the USA, total, including loans that are never paid back, including military aide.

[WinkyDink]

7. See above post and do the math.

[WinkyDink]

6. Thank you. Too many Americans think we feed and clothe the world.

[Bluerthanblue]

4. we CAN take care of our own - we choose not to,

and pretend that it's somehow "American" or "Patriotic" sit back and let our fellow citizens suffer and struggle. We demonize those who are hurting and look for ways to blame them for their situation, because our 'Freedoms' don't obligate us to anyone or anything but our own selves.

The US has enough wealth and resources to take very good care of it's citizens.

The fact that we don't is evidence that we are so very far from that "more perfect Union" we set out to create.

[Search4Justice]

8. I understand the frustration about ..

.. providing services to foreign nations that we don't provide many of our own citizens, it is flat pout wrong. However, the real travesty is that we spend unchecked BILLION$ each week on wars and the MIC in general as WE the People are beat down further with each passing day. NEITHER party takes this clear trampling of us seriously. The current climate is untenable and unsustainable.

[Zorra]

9. That's a pretty common sentiment among the people I talk with. nt

[upi402]

10. Huge % agree.

We'd be fine if we didn't worship the rich and business here. We could help others if we were rational here.