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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (38820)	8/20/2002 7:52:46 AM
From: Dayuhan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

I happen to be an ex-Peace Corps volunteer, and I would have to dismiss as fantasy the notion that expanding the Peace Corps is going to make any significant difference in either the development status of 3rd world nations or the perception of America in those nations. It is not a bad program, though it could be much, much, better, but it does not and will not make a great deal of difference. Trade is much, much, better than aid, and reducing the tariff barriers that developed nations install to prevent poor nations from exporting the only products they can efficiently produce is much more important than any increase in the aid budget. I was once in a conversation with a number of friends who work for the Asian Development Bank. They were involved in a fairly detailed recitation of the problems they face in making any sort of project work, all of the problems stemmed from a common source, but like so many in the aid business, they were too close to the problem to see it. It was up to me, the outsider, to point out the obvious: when an organization that is required by its charter to remain apolitical tries to promote development in nations where the primary obstacles to development are political, there are going to be problems. I'll stop there, not sure I want to get started on the aid issue. It's one of those subjects that brings on my natural inclination toward verbosity.