Nobody said we were, but when you promise to do something you will rightly be blamed for breaking your promise, especially if you do so suddenly with no time for a graceful transition.
It’s also a mistake to think of this as a cost. The United States quite willing spent money to influence other countries because anyone who thinks further ahead than the next quarterly report recognizes that even from a strictly utilitarian perspective it’s better to have international negotiating power instead of wars. Cutting USAID saved far less money than DOGE has already cost taxpayers, and cutting it mostly means that China is picking up the global power status we’re shedding.
Nailed it. And after our relationship with China sours, we are going to need cheap manufacturing. Paraphrasing an article I read the day the funding got cut, "Until today, America was a blessing on the lips of every person in Africa".
It is unfortunate, because sure, we sent a lot of money to Africa without much to show other than influence. Tomorrow, we would industrialize Africa to bolster our economy. Win-Win for all involved.
ETA: pretty good read with an outside perspective:
acdha|7 months ago
It’s also a mistake to think of this as a cost. The United States quite willing spent money to influence other countries because anyone who thinks further ahead than the next quarterly report recognizes that even from a strictly utilitarian perspective it’s better to have international negotiating power instead of wars. Cutting USAID saved far less money than DOGE has already cost taxpayers, and cutting it mostly means that China is picking up the global power status we’re shedding.
RajT88|6 months ago
It is unfortunate, because sure, we sent a lot of money to Africa without much to show other than influence. Tomorrow, we would industrialize Africa to bolster our economy. Win-Win for all involved.
ETA: pretty good read with an outside perspective:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/8/3/the-real-reason-...
Zigurd|7 months ago
PolygonSheep|7 months ago