Trade, not Aid, Benefits Poor
Friday, July 11th, 2008 By Marc Kilmer
The Washington Post had a story today about how free trade is helping to move people in Colombia out of poverty. It’s a great reminder that the real way to help people in foreign countries isn’t foreign aid (which has a poor track record of success) but allowing them to sell goods to consumers in the U.S.
Of course, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama is on record supporting increasing U.S. foreign aid but is opposed to a free trade deal with Colombia. Why would he be supporting spending more money on aid programs that will likely do nothing to help people but is opposing a deal that has demonstrable benefits for poor Colombians?
Tags: Economy, Free Trade, Trade, Washington DC
