From: Randall Parker 

In <38d529e4{at}w3.nls.net>, the sagacious richhong{at}hawksci.com Richard
Hong perspicated:
> Let's take South America as an example.  You don't think that a Marshall
> Plan type of program for Colombia would have saved us billions in fighting
> drugs grown by improverished farmers?

No, it wouldn't. If Colombia had abandoned their own currency for the
dollar decades ago and if it had lowered tariffs and generated opened up
the economy then people there would not need to grow Coca leaves to get
enough money for food.

The problem with these places is not what we haven't done for them. The
problem with these places is what they have done to themselves.

> Would Africa be Europe if we spent Marshall Plan money?  Probably not.  But
> it would be a lot closer to something like India than it is.

India would be a lot farther along if it hadn't embraced socialism after
independence. India has not been any 3rd world role model except when it
now finally is abandoning a lot of the policies that messed it up for so
long.

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5