Final answer:
The issue of whether the government should give money to other countries is complex. Arguments range from concerns over the potential harm of politically-motivated aid, to the perspective that aid is essential for addressing human suffering and the development of lower-income countries. Despite public perception, foreign aid represents a small fraction of the US federal budget with bipartisan support.
Step-by-step explanation:
The debate on whether the government should give money to other countries centers around the effectiveness of foreign aid. According to William Easterly, professor of economics at New York University, countries often receive aid due to political reasons rather than economic need, which can sometimes cause more harm than good. He suggests that a stable and market-oriented macroeconomic climate in a country can attract foreign investments from private entities, such as the initiatives of Face_book's Internet.org and Goo_gle's Project Loon, which aim to increase internet access in remote and low-income areas around the world.
On the other hand, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) notes that foreign aid can be crucial for low-income countries, making up about 1.3 percent of their GDP. Supporters see foreign aid as a way to address human suffering and to assist in building essential economic infrastructure, such as health clinics, schools, clean water, and electricity. Notable examples include governmental bodies like the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and NGOs like CARE International that operate to mitigate issues such as health crises, demonstrated by DFID's support to Ethiopia's Ministry of Health during a meningitis outbreak.
Despite skepticism, in the US, foreign aid constitutes only about 1 percent of the federal budget, revealing a discrepancy in public perception and the reality of contributions. The relatively small budget commitment to foreign aid does receive bipartisan support in Congress, indicating its perceived importance for strategic, humanitarian, and developmental goals.