The downplayed benefits of foreign aid

And how it relates to Ukraine.

I’ve heard a lot of rumblings about foreign aid lately, particularly when it comes to Ukraine, and much of what I hear is flat out incorrect.

The most common thing I hear is, “Why are we spending that money on other countries when it could be better used here?”

That’s a valid question, but the root of the question is based on a faulty premise. What most people don’t know is that most of the United States’ foreign aid actually is spent here.

Let me explain.

When we appropriate funds for foreign aid, a good portion of those are spent in the United States first. The U.S. government purchases equipment and materials from our own companies, then sends those items to the foreign country. 

A solid portion of foreign aid dollars are actually a form of investment in our own country, a stimulus for our own manufacturing and business sectors. It’s our own economy that benefits before anyone else.

The United States appropriated $113 billion in aid to Ukraine as of August 2023. That’s a lot of money. Is it just being wire-transferred over to the Ukrainian government? Of course not.

For example, a majority of the weapons and equipment that was transferred from the United States to Ukraine occurred under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the United States to pull from weapons and equipment that is already in stockpiles to rapidly deliver them in a time of crisis. A total of $25.93 billion in our “foreign aid” was used to replenish those stocks back home. 

Those missiles, combat drones, aircraft and tanks weren’t doing any good for us sitting in storage, but they’re top-of-the-line equipment compared to what Ukraine was using before and its giving them an advantage over Russia on the battlefield.

It allows the United States to ship out equipment that we weren’t even using and then replace it with more modern and advanced military equipment, which provides a huge boost to our own defense contractors and weapons manufacturers back home as well. 

Funding also is utilized for the salaries of U.S. troops who are training Ukrainian servicemen, for members of the U.S. Department of Treasury for sanction enforcement against Russia and the U.S. Department of Justice for war crimes investigations against Russia. Additional funds are used for oversight to encourage funds are not being squandered.

Ukraine, while still having issues with corruption in its government, has taken tremendous steps to clean house and combat it. Ukraine implemented a string of reforms internally and nearly 300 investigations were launched from Ukraine’s specialized anti-corruption bureau with 58 indictments in the last year. The efforts are paying off as Ukraine was removed from a European Council list of countries deemed “globally unsatisfactory” due to endemic corruption.

But that’s not all, additional aid goes to neighboring countries like Moldova to help them reduce their dependency on importing oil from Russia.

Perhaps the biggest, most important reason of all is that it keeps U.S. soldiers out of the fighting. Ukraine is not currently a member of NATO, but pretty much every other country bordering Russia next to Europe is, including all other countries bordering Ukraine. If Ukraine were to fall due to lack of support against a bigger, stronger opponent, do you truly believe Russia would just stop at the Ukrainian border and be content with the country’s spoils?

The United States spent an estimated $5.8 trillion on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11. 

Those aren’t even major world powers. 

How much do you think we would have to pay, both in the human cost of lives lost and the financial side, if we were drawn in to the conflict against Russia along with the other European countries? The very thought of it boggles my mind.

For me, I’m perfectly content sending money to Ukraine because every dollar spent there helping Ukraine fend Russia off by themselves is saving hundreds of dollars in future misery.

And that’s money well spent.