THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 13, 1995 TAG: 9502100035
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
No federal spending arouses more heat than foreign aid. Its opponents often talk as if it constitutes a large fraction of the budget and claim that it is money thrown away on ungrateful recipients overseas that might be better spent at home. Or not spent at all. It is therefore a ripe target for Republican budget cutters.
But a new poll sheds surprising light on foreign aid. It may not be as unpopular as often supposed. The poll, conducted by he Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland found that 78 percent of the public thinks some foreign aid is appropriate. The issues are how much is enough and what it ought to be spent for.
The poll found real confusion about how much we are currently spending. the average respondent thought foreign aid accounted for 15 percent of the budget. The median view of how much is enough was 3 percent. More parsimonious Republicans thought 2 percent plenty. In fact, we are spending only 1 percent. Given the facts, only 18 percent think we now spend too much.
As to spending priorities, it turns out the public is less interested in realpolitik than in altruism. Less than half of those polled favored spending to secure allies. Only 22 percent agreed that we should spend only where we have security interests.
Instead, 87 percent of those polled favored humanitarian relief, 75 percent wanted to aid poor countries with development and 74 percent with family planning. This is a far cry from the stereotype of Americans as isolationist pinchpennies.
Though the poll didn't address the issue, it should be recalled that much foreign-aid money actually comes to roost in the jeans of American farmers or helps swell the balance sheets of defense contractors. In helping subsidize purchases by foreign governments of American products, foreign aid often advances our interests abroad while contributing to the domestic economy.
Some foreign aid is surely wasted and much could be better spent. Current practices can be fruitfully examined and improved. But those committed to cutting to the bone and spending only when there is an anticipated national-security payoff are in for a surprise. The American people seem to be less tightfisted and more openhearted than foes of foreign aid believe. by CNB