I want to make the case that all foreign aid should be abolished.

According to ForeignAssistance.gov, as of June 13, 2025, the U.S. government has over $100 billion in foreign aid obligations, consisting of more than 20,000 activities taking place in 205 countries, primarily Ukraine, Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.

According to Pew Research, the American government spent $1.07 trillion on Foreign Assistance between 2005 and 2024.

Foreign aid allows the U.S. government to unilaterally put obligations on their domestic population, us, and use those funds to increase their power and social standing in other parts of the world.

The essential issue with government provision of foreign aid, is the creation of the service/payment split.

The people who provide the "service," don't have to answer to those paying for it.

In the case of foreign aid, there is a split between those who pay (taxpayers), those who provide the service (politicians and NGOs), and those who receive the "service."

In short, those who have the power to control foreign aid funds, do not face the discipline necessary to provide high quality services at a reasonable cost, since the people paying for it do not have a recognized right to stop paying if they don't find value in the project.

This would be the equivalent of saying Blockbuster, Myspace, Sears, Toys R Us, and Borders could have resolved their business issues, if only they had access to the funds of involuntary investors known as taxpayers.

Instead of companies getting money by meeting consumer demand, foreign aid encourages companies to reallocate scarce resources towards complying with the desires of politicians, or in the words of Michael McClintock, these funds turn entrepreneurs away from pleasing consumers, and into "Instruments of Statecraft." 

Not only do politicians with access to trillions of dollars not face the necessary incentives to provide quality aid, but they lack the knowledge of how and where to spend money effectively.

According to the Center for Global Development, total aid given to Africa from wealthy countries since 1960, comes to $4.7 trillion in 2013 prices.

Even if politicians really wanted to bring democracy and prosperity to Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Ukraine, they don't know how countries become prosperous.

If they had such knowledge, we wouldn't see the homelessness and poverty that could be found in many areas of the United States, an area where these same U.S. politicians have much more control and influence.

The American people also directly bear the cost of these expenditures.

When the government does not have enough money to fund foreign activities through taxing their domestic population, they issue Treasury notes, often purchased by the Federal Reserve, who then prints the money, and increases the amount of dollars in circulation.