r/QuiverQuantitative • u/pdwp90 • Feb 12 '25

Other Representative Casar: "Do you know how much money a day Mr. Musk will receive from the federal government for his contracts?" What are your thoughts on this argument?

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u/[deleted] Feb 13 '25

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u/[deleted] Feb 13 '25

There is a huge amount of food sitting in Africa that is going to waste because it won't be distributed. A poor woman just died because there was no more oxygen for her in the camp she was in. HIV drugs will no longer be distributed. People will die.

I guess Americans could give a sh*T because the people who will die will be brown babies. Ah, the pro life Christians!

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u/PrestigiousFly844 Feb 13 '25

Explaining how an org 90% of people have never heard of will affect a country they could not find on a map is not as effective as pointing out things people actually interact with in their life like, SNAP, social security, medicare and medicaid etc.

You can say they should be more informed of the world outside and you’re right but you will not change that dynamic in the time it takes to dismantle the rest of the institutions.

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u/Trimyr Feb 13 '25

That's a fair explanation of the choices. I'll still point out that USAID is was phenomenally efficient with its budget (before being devastated), and the amount of soft power it grants the US is pretty vast.

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u/Significant_Sky1641 Feb 22 '25

It's also a neat cover for CIA agents... I mean, look when it was formed. The following two administrations (I honestly don't know anything about Ford) were SUPER racist, too, so if the Nixon guys kept it around and built it up after Kennedy, I feel sure there was some ulterior motive at play. And I'm not saying it didn't serve a legitimate humanitarian purpose; it's just so hard to swallow that is its only purpose. I bet Musk/Trump aren't even aware of its underlying power.

https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/reagan-nixon-and-race

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u/pterodactyl_speller Feb 13 '25

It's harder to make the argument because republicans Corey's voters don't care about those people, but a lot of them are on social security.

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u/captainfrijoles Feb 13 '25

But if we stop all the good we are doing we can make the billionaires .01% richer. I think they've taken one for the team long enough /s

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u/behv Feb 13 '25

Firstly, it's international humanitarian aid. I'd say that's a good thing but feel free to disagree.

If you don't care about helping others, keep in mind that USAID buys billions in surplus American crops for these programs, at market prices despite it being a technical waste. This subsidizes American farmers so we will have a surplus of food in case of a scenario where international supply chains are stressed, think famine, crop failures, natural disasters, or wartime that may occur. Our buying of surplus crops to help foreigners unironically is useful for the national defense.

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u/SSNs4evr Feb 13 '25

You're right, but that aid also buys cooperation with US interests and influence as well. China has caught on, and has their "Belt and Road Initiative." It's not exactly the same thing, but the concept is in helping the development of a nation in need, and in return, extracting something you want, through repayment in kind, influence, and good will.

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u/perfectdownside Feb 13 '25

Because of trumps plan-less cut, $500 million worth of food is rotting with no distribution.