"Absurd, unacceptable, and insulting."

That's how the Vice President of Guatemala, Eduardo Stein, rightly referred to an idiotic idea being kicked around by certain conservative members of the U.S. Congress. Their harebrained scheme is to classify the funds that Guatemalan immigrants in the U.S. send back home as "foreign aid".

Which basically means that the money these immigrants make mowing lawns, cleaning hotels, washing dishes, cooking meals, picking fruit, caring for children, laboring in factories, etc., will be considered the gracious gift of the U.S. government to Guatemala.

Vice President Stein rejected that political ploy:

"This is money hard-earned by Guatemalan workers, on which they have paid taxes, and with which they have contributed to the United States economy. Furthermore, many of these workers don't even receive worker's benefits. It is simply unacceptable."

Unfortunately the information is still very sketchy, and I'm not sure yet if these "remesas" (money transfers) will be simply added to the foreign aid total in order to make the government seem more generous than it is, or whether it might even be used as a pretext to cut back on foreign aid to Guatemala.

The truth is in the numbers. So buckle up, because these will blow you away!

How much will the US provide to Guatemala in military and social aid this year?

Roughly 45 million dollars. (According to the State Department)

How much will the estimated 1.2 million Guatemalans living in "el norte" send back home this year?

Roughly 3 billion dollars! (Yes, that's billion with a "b").

Sadly, the wealthiest nation in the world is known as being somewhat stingy when it comes to aid.

According to Tom Barry,

A decade ago at the Earth Summit in Brazil, the United States and the rest of the developed world promised to increase aid levels to at least 0.7% of national income.

How does the U.S. economic aid commitment as a percentage of national wealth compare with the other 22 large aid donors? The latest comparative figures from 2002 place the United States —with its 0.13% commitment— dead last behind Italy and Greece with their 0.2% contributions of national income.

Well, I guess I can see why certain unscrupulous U.S. politicians would be desperate enough to try to cook the books and look a bit more benevolent.

Posted by elcanche at April 29, 2005 08:38 PM