The Conservative Edge

The altruists have kicked into high gear this week after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the country of Haiti. Roughly a third of Haiti’s 9 million people have been directly affected by the earthquake and subsequent 40 tremors and aftershocks. Not surprisingly, the celebrities, athletes, and other famous folks have made headlines regarding their donations to Haiti rescue efforts, as well as urging Americans to open their pockets and send money to help the victims.

It is not pleasant to see people suffer from natural calamities that wipe out homes, villages, and cities. Nature does not discriminate; it can overwhelm people regardless of culture, wealth, or social standing. But there are certain facts we should consider lest we are made to feel guilty for withholding our charity.

The first thing we should think of is how the Haitian government could be so incompetent in providing basic necessities for its constituents. Even though Haiti has not been a model of stability, one would think that some priority would have been given to the construction of roads, schools, hospitals, and water supplies. The Associated Press revealed in a recent article that “1 in 8 children in Haiti dies before age 5. The life expectancy is 59 to 62 years. Malaria, typhoid and dengue fevers and other life-threatening illnesses long ago wiped out in the industrialized world still plague Haiti.”

It seems that at some point the countries who send the most in foreign aid should hold the recipient of that aid accountable. What has the Haitian government been doing with all of the money it has been receiving for the past several years? American citizens were upset with the federal government for its mishandling of the Hurricane Katrina cleanup, yet they don’t give a second thought as to how their tax dollars have been wasted by the Haitian government.

The AP has also reported that “much of the U.S. government’s aid to Haiti comes through the Agency for International Development, which has provided at least $800 million from budget years 2004 through 2008, agency figures show.” Yet, the report continues, “Haiti is one of the poorest places on Earth. Most basic public services are lacking, people typically live on less than $2 a day, nearly half the population is illiterate and the government has a history of instability. The public has little opportunity to be sure that aid to the government is used honestly and well.”

So, Haiti has received almost a billion dollars over four of the last five years, and they don’t have drinking water, schools, and a road system? That doesn’t seem like a very good return on our investment. A good portion of that 800 million dollars came from tax revenues collected from American people. In other words, most of us have already been sending money to Haiti. Apparently, our giving has gone for naught. And there is no guarantee that our contributions for earthquake relief will be used as intended.

I am content to let the “fat cat” actors, singers, athletes, politicians, and other activists send their donations to Haiti. Many Americans are still facing job losses, falling wages, higher energy and tuition costs, and plunging home values. Those who are struggling here at home need not feel shamed for refusing to jump on the altruist bandwagon. Maybe it’s time for some of the other industrialized nations to shoulder the load for disaster relief efforts. Time, too, for America to see to its own economic disaster recovery.