Ian Birrell
The i Paper
The Western aid “gravy train” has reached the end of the line, said Ian Birrell. The U.S. has frozen most of its foreign aid, while the U.K., France, Sweden, and Germany are slashing their assistance budgets. The bleeding-heart crowd is in an uproar, wailing that the rich West is betraying the world’s poor. Yet we’ve been doing poor countries little good with all that cash we splash around, bestowing vast sums in ways that are both “wasteful and patronizing.” It all started in 1985 with Live Aid, a well-intentioned attempt to raise funds for starving Ethiopians that “ended up aiding the dictatorship behind a cruel famine.” Britain’s former foreign secretary, David Miliband, claims the cuts are “devastating for people who need more help.” His argument might be…
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The Week (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 4, 2025