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The value of our nation’s imports exceeded the value of our nation’s exports by nearly $700 billion in 2008, nearly equal to our federal government’s recent economic stimulus program. Imagine the benefits this $700 billion could have provided to our nation’s economy had it been spent here as opposed to abroad. And that’s just in one year. Since 1997, our trade deficits have ballooned from $100 billion to the current $700 billion. The cumulative impact of these trade deficits has had a devastating impact on our nation’s economy and it is this dependence on foreign goods, which has been one of the major causes of our nation’s current economic crisis. It is also why many of the jobs once held by Americans have been transferred overseas and why future domestic job growth will remain stagnant as our nation attempts to recover from this crisis. Furthermore, the federal government’s economic stimulus programs are incapable of producing sustainable economic growth and will only increase our national debt, another major cause of the current economic crisis. Any job opportunities created by this stimulus program will cease when the money runs out.
Bono: TED Prize wish: Join my call to action on Africa
www.ted.com Musician and activist Bono accepts the 2005 TED Prize with a riveting talk, arguing that aid to Africa isn't just another ...
Who would you have chosen recipient of the Nobel Peace prize, winner Professor Muhammad Yunus or Bono? Why?
Bono joined forces with Motorola, Apple, Gap, Converse, Viacom, and many others forming Red Charity. Proceeds going to programs in Africa to fight HIV & AIDs. Bono also joined Bill & Belinda Gates Foundation co-founding DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) organization, which fights poverty and HIV in the developing world.
Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank has been instrumental in helping millions of poor Bangladeshis, many of them women, improve their standard of living by letting them borrow small sums to start businesses. "Every single individual on earth has both the potential and the right to live a decent life. Across cultures and civilizations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development," the Nobel Committee said in its citation.
Two great programs but how do you stop people from dying of AIDS long enough to create a better life when the country lacks medication & testing?
Definitely Dr. Yunus. He started his program 40 years ago when he himself had nothing - with only $27 dollars in his pocket (or it's equivalent), he decided he was going to do what he could to bring about change. That's the great thing about what he has accomplished. Most of us are kept from doing small things that can bring about big changes because we think "what can I do by myself?" but he did exactly that - he was one person trying to do what he could to help someone less fortunate than him with the limited means that he had at that time - and now, he is helping millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but around the world become self-sufficient. I think he is an inspiration to every average person around the world to become motivated and bring about change to make the world a better place.
Go, Dr. Yunus! And, Bono, I still love your music!
Bono's heart is in the right place, but the programs he's been advocating, like debt relief, Official Developmental Aid, etc., give money to NGOs or governments (or forgive their debts), where it's mostly wasted or lost to corruption. Little to no money filters down to the people who really need it, and in many cases, it keeps corrupt governments in power who ensure their people remain poor and hungry.
Bangladesh is not at all affected by HIV/Aids rather poverty is a cause.
Jubilee Oregon November 2008 E-Newsletter
Jubilee Oregon E-Newsletter
Nov. 21, 2008
SPOTLIGHT: Vulture Funds Primer by Robert Brown
If you have an image of a predator circling, looking for prey, then your image of vulture funds is pretty accurate. “’Vulture fund’ is a name given to a company that seeks to make a profit by buying up ‘bad’ debt at a cheap price, then trying to recover the full amount, often by suing through the courts.” These funds are very secretive and are often organized in tax haven countries where there are little reporting requirements. These companies exist to make a lot of money to the detriment of the country whose debt they would like to own. The following example illustrates how this works in real life:
Zambia borrowed $15 million from Romania in 1979. In the 1990s, because of crushing poverty, Zambia was not able to pay toward their debt and became eligible for the process qualify for debt relief from the World Bank and the IMF. They began negotiations to clear their debt. In 1999, in swoops Donegal International (the vulture fund). Donegal bought the $30 million debt (the original debt plus accrued interest) for $3.3 million from Romania. Donegal then sued Zambia for $55M (the face value of the debt + compound interest + their fees and profits). They sued Zambia in the British courts where the laws favor creditors and not the debtors. The result of the court case was that Zambia had to pay Donegal $15.5 million.
Vulture Funds attack poor countries and are motivated by debt cancellation. Donegal bought the debt at a vastly reduced price at a time when it was clear that Zambia was so desperately poor and indebted that it had to have debt relief. In fact, Donegal used this fact to persuade Romania to sell it the debt. With debt relief comes an increase in funds for poor countries. This money should be used for the country’s benefit, but the vulture fund sees the country as having the ability to pay off the debt that they purchased since the other debt has been cancelled or reduced. In Zambia’s case, the benefit of debt cancellation was postponed since they had to pay Donegal $15.5 million.
...africa aids debt trade - News
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Bush’s African legacy not worth talking about - Business Daily Africa Bush’s African legacy not worth talking about They credit him for quietly tripling annual aid to Africa from $1.4 billion when he came into office in 2001 to $6 billion in 2008. |
Bono writes New York Times column - BBC News
BBC NewsBono writes New York Times column The singer is well known for campaigning against debt for the world's poorest countries and for the improvement of trade relations between Africa and the Bono gets a new job U2's Bono Begins Career As 'new York Times' Columnist Bono to Write New York Times Op-Ed Column
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Making history - Frontline
FrontlineMaking history In fact, revolutionary Cuba’s foreign policy gave high priority to the African continent from the very outset. In 1963, Cuba gave military aid to newly
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Economy Made Few Gains In Bush Years - CBS News Economy Made Few Gains In Bush Years Bush also boasts about his record on trade, including the signing of 11 free-trade agreements with countries in Asia, Africa and Central and South America. |
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Nigeria: African Policy Issues for Obama (2) - AllAfrica.com Nigeria: African Policy Issues for Obama (2) Of particular interest to the continent, in this respect, are the paramount issues of debt cancellation, development aid, free and fair trade, |
Debt Directory
ONE | No child born with HIV by 2015
Campaign to make poverty history with an online petition aimed at fighting global AIDS and extreme poverty. Affiliated with Bono's DATA organization.
DATA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa (or DATA) was a multinational non ... Africa through debt relief, adjusting trade rules which burden Africa, eliminating the African AIDS epidemic, ...
allAfrica.com: Other Sources
allAfrica: African news and information for a global audience ... Debt Aids Trade Africa (London) Visit their site: http://www.data.org. Debt, Aids, Trade in Africa (Washington, ...
DATA: Debt AIDS Trade Africa : Alimadzi
DATA: Debt AIDS Trade Africa. For its commitment to raising awareness and effecting change ... If Africa could regain just an additional 1% share of the global trade, it would ...
Debt AIDS Trade Africa (international organization ...
Britannica online encyclopedia article on Debt AIDS Trade Africa (international organization)
