It is time for the United States to withdraw from the foreign aid business, cease all foreign aid, minimize foreign affairs spending, and return the funds to the citizens of the United States. This does not mean that the countries in need will go without assistance. Indeed, Americans are, by their very nature, charitable. There are organizations and contributors in place that already provide aid and comfort to people in need all over the world. With the funds now earmarked for foreign aid properly returned to the American citizens, much of those funds would find their way to the needy people of the world through private donations.

Since we are speaking about foreign aid, it should be mentioned that the U.S. Government currently spends $262 billion per year on defense. The problem with that figure is that much of it is spent defending other nations. An excellent example of the problem is our current spending of $40 billion per year to "defend" Japan and South Korea. $40 billion per year! Those nations are economically sound and have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Yet, the United States is spending $40 billion per year in air, ground, and naval forces to provide a defense for these two countries. This is occuring on a global scale. Our tax dollars are being used to defend other economic powers to the extent of $1,000 per year for every American. This must stop. The United States cannot afford to be the guardian of the world. We can no longer afford to bankrupt our own citizens to defend other countries. Our provision of a defense for other nations is unConstitutional. The Constitution provides only for the defense of the United States. The United States should immediately withdraw all foreign-based troops, ships, aircraft, and ground equipment, return them to the United States (except in the instance of actual war between the United States and a foreign body), and sell the land and bases overseas. The money from the sale of the bases and land should be returned to the Treasury and used only for defense of the United States.

More on the economic costs of Foreign Aid, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Defense