To the editor:
Unemployment is central to political talk. Recent data has shown some of the lowest rates the country has seen in decades. Some may worry that this cannot last, but there appears to be one, often overlooked, method to sustaining it: foreign aid.
Many Americans disregard foreign aid. Suggestions that we should be focused on helping the poor here before we help abroad are common. This is understandable, but we have separate domestic and foreign policies. We can focus our domestic policy on helping the poor here while we focus our foreign policy on helping the poor worldwide.
Even less considered is the fact that reducing global poverty can positively affect the U.S. economy. Providing aid to the world’s poorest countries creates more consumers. As people are uplifted out of poverty, they soon have the ability to purchase basic goods like produce and hygiene products. As the poor move into the middle class, they buy more, like cars and electronics, and they are buying these goods from U.S. manufacturers. In fact, 50 percent of our exports go to developing nations.
These new markets create higher profits for U.S. manufacturers, and manufacturing demands create new jobs for the unemployed. Simultaneously, we help ourselves and the world’s poor. Urge your Congressional leaders to support funding for the International Affairs Budget to continue this economic growth at home and abroad.
Kelsey Napier
Greenwood
