Ananth Baliga

 

An apparent US State Department budgetary document shows the body gutting foreign aid to Cambodia, completely eliminating all development assistance and slashing health programs funded by the State Department and USAID as well.

 

The document, obtained and published by Foreign Policy on Monday, shows that development assistance to the Kingdom will be cut to zero in 2018, down from a 2016 real spending level of $34.5 million. Similarly, the Economic Support Fund will see a 100 percent cut from its $8 million in 2016.

 

The cuts come in the wake of the Trump administration’s March budget proposal that showed a one-third cut to government development assistance to developing countries.

 

read more http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/breaking-news-us-development-system-slash-zero-document

 

 

-- © Copyright Phenom Pen Post 25/04

As always, the leaders of the developing countries and their elites do not suffer when development aid is cut - just the ordinary beneficiaries. So why carry out the cuts?

think much of the foreign aid is just pocketed by those ruling the countries. america needs to save its money for its military and for wall building.

The numbers are small, but they do add up. These assistance programs really should only be used for very needy countries who are strategic to US interests. I am not sure if Cambodia really needs this assistance, and as another poster pointed out, their effectiveness is often questionable.

 

In my opinion, these assistance programs are fine, if we are running a balanced budget. But when we are borrowing hundred of billions of dollars every year, we need to get the spending under control first. If the US goes broke, who can we help?

As expected from the Trump administration, fortunately the Chinese are the ones usually giving the aid in South East Asia these days.