President Donald Trump’s decision to retire the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has sparked debate across policy circles. Yet, a close examination of USAID’s operational history—its ineffectiveness in achieving economic development, lack of transparency, and its entanglement with politically-connected contractors—reveals that the decision is not only justified but overdue. Coupled with the testimony of voices like former African Union Ambassador to the US, Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao—who has criticized USAID’s role in Africa—the case for phasing out the agency grows even stronger.
The most damning criticism of USAID lies in its track record. Despite decades of financial commitment and organizational reform, foreign aid delivered through USAID has consistently failed to yield measurable economic growth in recipient countries. The evidence is overwhelming: there is no correlation between foreign aid and long-term economic growth, and the agency has often fueled unsustainable debt rather than development.
Foreign aid often ends up supporting autocratic regimes and bloated state bureaucracies. Instead of fostering private sector growth and free-market reforms, it props up central planning and entrenched elites. In India, for example, USAID poured more than $2 billion between 1961 and 1989—primarily to the state sector—with little to show in terms of economic dynamism.
Yes, the USAID program is a huge failure at its stated objectives, however it has been a great success at its unstated objectives: to support the totalitarianizing of this country by kicking back so much money to the progressive/lefty/collectivist/Marxist/socialist/communist/murderers that they can overcome any rational opposition. This is why the usual suspects are having a conniption fit about the death of the flow into which trough they have their snouts firmly implanted. The pay-for-rioters are also less to be seen and perhaps the
Soros crowd will slow down their monetary support due to lack of taxpayer funds to screw ourselves with. Perhaps we are moving towards a bit more sane society, a society with less misery intrenched in it. Do you thing killing the USAID monster was a good thing? What part impressed you the most?