What American problems would you have addressed before sending $100 million to Haiti?

[chris m]

I keep seeing things on my Facebook and here on Yahoo, saying how that the foreign aid we supply should be used at home first. So my question is, before sending money to a country where 100,000+ people are dead and suffering, unaware of the locations of relatives, etc...what would you have spent the money on here at home first?

[whimsy]

Nothing - Haiti is an emergency effort that needs immediate aid.

Further, any re-building and assistance in Haiti will be a major creator of US jobs, too.

[libsticker]

I would send the aid, sometimes it is not about You, Us, or we, but about being compassionate. We have problems, but they are small in comparison to the Haitians problems right now.

[Ballerina]

I view the situation in Haiti as a human crisis, not a political issue.
Big business, the food industry, and healthcare are three of the biggest issues we need to address. And most of that change needs to start with the American people, but there is a huge lack of awareness on these issues for a lot of people.

But while I am fully aware of the fact that America has huge issues that we need to address, how can anyone justify not helping out a country that just lost close to everything (which wasn't much to begin with). To me, it's like trying to justify caring for a patient with a broken leg before caring for the patient who just had a massive heart attack.


We are lucky enough to live in a really great country with hot water available at the turn of a faucet, electricity at the flip of a switch, public education for our children, government assistance programs, etc. but those luxuries are often abused as well. I've noticed so many times people putting convenience before even a thought of the impact their actions will have. Everyone is guilty of it from time to time but when it comes to the fact that a lot of people just don't care...that's a problem. That's our biggest problem.