Aid to other countries

Firstly, I'm not against sending aid to other countries in need, so don't have a go at me - what I am miffed at is the way our country just sends "millions" of pounds, just like that. It HAS to be that our government is seen to muscle it's way to the front and "donate" millions in aid. It does though....the prime minister couldn't wait get on a podium (anywhere would have done) and pledge millions to the cause - the gesture must make him look good, or he hopes it will. It amazes me that him being the prime minister of England, he does not do the same "pledge of millions of pounds in donations" to just-as-good causes at home HERE. We need investment in this country too, but what the english citizens have to do is fill in forms, queue, beg, lick backsides...and that's JUST to get over the first hurdle. All I'm saying is if our government treated it's own citizens the same same way it treats foreign countries (especially in aid), this country would be better off.

If you think that's a tad unfair, consider the aid we give to foreign countries, then write off the debt because they can't pay it back - again, don't have a go at me, I'm not blaming the other countries involved...just our useless government(s) for mismanaging England's assets. I mean can you imagine going to the bank and saying "I'm sorry, I can't repay my mortgage....any chance you can waver the debt?" Then a friendly-faced executive comes down from an above office, ushers me into another room with a really nice cup of tea (and biscuits...good ones too) and says "absolutely sir, forget the debt ever existed". Then sends me away with a new account to spend down the pub...Honestly, it just would not happen. So why does our government do it then? And to top it all, the people who paid the tax in the first place don't even get a say in where their hard-earned money goes.....it's a joke, and it doesn't seem right somehow. If England's citizens need anything (like a certain drug which helps cancer patients), that DEPENDS on where a person lives.....why is that right? And if you don't live in the "accepted" area, the government pretends it's gone out to an early lunch, and hopes you'll find a way of fund-raising it yourself - again, why is that right when they can readily give aid to foreign countries just like that?

To finalise: I have no problem giving aid to countries who quite obviously deserve it BUT I think that whatever is given in aid abroad, at least the same monetary value should be used for investment here in England too - that would seem a fair compromise? Or another analogy is this....I read that every bomb dropped on Iraq (the "smart" bombs) cost in the region of one million pounds each....each (jeez!) - someone at this point may be desperately trying to correct the monetary value, and I will obviously accept the correction, but that's not quite the point - what I mean is that our country (well Tony "I love Bush" (no pun intended) Blair) went to war on the premise of weapons of mass destruction....and then smashed Iraq to bits, at £1,000,000 a go. The point is this: it didn't matter how many bombs were used, as long as it "got the job done", so again an honest question would be if our pockets were practically limitless on the cost of the war, why can't the same logic be used to invest in our own country? I don't know....nor do I understand either. Invest in people and you gain much more in the long run.

Hmmmm, this begs another interesting question....but that'll be for another topic.