Earmarking and Accountability: ‘A New Plan for Foreign Aid’

Your editorial only casually brushes the only reasons for foreign aid. From its inception immediately following World War II, and in the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, the concept of foreign aid was acceptable to the American public for five very sound and exclusive reasons:

- To advance the capabilities of our armed forces.

- Aid in exchange for bases or tangible defense benefits.

- To assist the buildup of stricken national economies to withstand communist subversion.

- Support for American policies in world forums.

- To create trading partners for American goods.

There neither was, nor should there be, a commitment to bettering the lives of non-Americans for altruistic reasons as long as one American lacks essentials. And if we are at the bottom of industrialized aid givers, is it not reasonable to stay there until they catch up with our generosity over the last 40 years?

STUART von RATHJEN

Los Angeles