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comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  3981 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: A Worthy Read - 2014 Gates Annual Letter: Myths About Foreign Aid - Gates Foundation

    There is a double standard at work here. I’ve heard people calling on the government to shut down some aid program if one dollar of corruption is found. On the other hand, four of the past seven governors of Illinois have gone to prison for corruption, and to my knowledge no one has demanded that Illinois schools be shut down or its highways closed.

The differentiation humans make between "us" and "them" is fairly well-documented.

Anyway, this is an excellent article. The bottom line is that this is an issue which can't be generalized into oblivion. Both the above and this are likely accurate ... but we shouldn't be capricious with our aid money with little forethought.