I've been thinking about the One Campaign for quite a bit now. A very important deadline for President Bush pops up next week during the G8 summit. He needs to figure out if he is going to commit $25 billion extra dollars to fight world poverty. I believe Bush needs to make this commitment for many reasons. First, it's a chance for America to lead in the fight against poverty in the world, especially Africa. This isn't poverty like there is in the US where people might miss a meal here and there. In Africa some just barely eat at all. If the money could be put into organizations and governments that could be trusted then maybe some dents could be made. Unlike the One folks and a few others, this isn't about terrorism. The 9/11 terrorists weren't poor, that's for sure. This is about making an honest attempt, as a nation, to try and fix a huge problem that is only getting bigger.
On the political side, Bush needs to own this issue and take the lead. Conservatives need to let it be know that they care about the poor and aren't going to quible over silly details. This is part of my "bleeding heart conservative" beliefs. At the same time, this could and should be a common cause where great things can get done. I don't want to see my political party be at fault for not leading our country into a chance to try and make the world a better place.
Posted by Tim at June 26, 2005 10:04 PMSecure, tradeable property rights will do more to eliminate poverty than any trillion dollars.
Unfortunately with the socialist/communist fantasy rampant in the hungry parts of the world what are the odds?
Folks are starving because of bad faith. Lack of money is not the problem.
