Foreign Aid and International Affairs

While the United States struggles for economic growth, the federal government continues to send billions abroad to military allies, humanitarian causes, or to dictatorships that obey our commands. Yet despite the government’s record, many wish for the government to continue its policy of exporting tax dollars to support their vision of foreign policy.

In truth, foreign aid and international entanglements often hurt the majority of the population in both the giving and receiving country. Rather than serve humanitarian ends, foreign aid is often a recipe for shoring up tyrannical governments abroad, fostering international conflict, or preventing foreign economies from developing sustainably on their own.

For the purposes of the MyGovCost Calculator, federal spending on Foreign Aid and International Affairs includes the expenses associated with international diplomacy, security, and foreign-aid programs that are under the control of the Department of State.

Learn more about Foreign Aid and International Affairs problems and solutions:

“U.S. Recognition Doesn’t Bode Well for Somalia”
Benjamin W. Powell (The Huffington Post) January 28, 2013

“Millennium Flop”
Alvaro Vargas Llosa; September 16, 2005

“Escaping Poverty: Foreign Aid, Private Property, and Economic Development”
Peter T. Leeson (Winning Templeton Fellowship Essay) October 10, 2007

“Did the United States Create Democracy in Germany?”
James L. Payne (The Independent Review) Fall 2006

“U.S. Assistance for Market Reforms: Foreign Aid Failures in Russia and the Former Soviet Bloc”
Janine R. Weddel (The Independent Review) Winter 2000

Making Poor Nations Rich: Entrepreneurship and the Process of Economic Development
Edited by Benjamin Powell

Lessons from the Poor: Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit
Edited by Alvaro Vargas Llosa

See Also:

The Center on Global Prosperity
Independent Institute’s Archive on Diplomacy and Foreign Aid