Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Everyone knows that Haiti

is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. And everyone knows that it’s an hour and thirty minutes from Miami, Florida. Or most people know that. So, how in the world can we let this happen?…

I do not think that foreign aid is the solution to the world’s problems. I think it can only do a limited amount, and it doesn’t do that very well. A lot of foreign aid goes into relief. They wait for the disaster, and then they put the money in…
This is Anne Hasting, director of Fonkoze, alternative bank of the poor, in fall of 2008, speaking to reporter Ruxandra Guidi about the damage from the latest hurricanes to hit Haiti.
Like Arnold always says: institutions matter. UPDATE: Tyler has a bunch of policy ideas here. David Henderson quips:
A standard thing we teach our students is that it's more efficient to give money to people than to give stuff. ... Of course, the same principle applies to thinks like health care, education, and housing. Hmmm.

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