[Hugh R]

To be clear on my position. I'm OK with Humanitarian Aid. In the case of Haiti, it is a corrupt government that enriches its power brokers at the expense of its citizens. I'm OK with providing food, medicine, and rescue efforts. I am not OK with simply giving them money, which history has shown ends up in Swiss bank accounts. I am not OK with rebuilding their country for them (which we will, I fear). According to others here, Hillary Clinton said the USA have given Haiti $9 Billion over the last 3 years. Haiti has about 10 million people, that works out to about $900 for every man, women and child in that country that they get from the USA. Wikipedia says most Haitians live on about $700/year, so we're more than doubling that. Also Wikipedia say in 2005 the Haitian debt per capita was $169. In the USA then ours was $40,000 per person; and we're sending them money? I believe the USA has to balance its checkbook. We can't continue to give any foreign aid to any country if we have to borrow from the Chinese to do so. That is financial lunacy. That is like running up debt on your credit card to donate money to the church. You have to take care of yourself first, and others as you have the means to do so.