The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed cutting its budget by a fifth. This comes after its largest contributor, the US, decided to withdraw. The organisation must now reduce its tasks and staff, it said.
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I’m afraid of what the result will be in the global opinion when America’s soft power diminishes.
If the only existing side remaining is that of a bully, then that’s what everyone will see.
Isolation is the only result of this.
The free wolrd will have to take steps towards a new balance with the absence of the USA
It just seems too obvious to me that this is the intentional sabotage by the Trump administration on behalf of at least Russia. None of this makes sense whatsoever. Not even if you’re a stock market businessman who doesn’t care about allies.
It literally only makes sense in the purview of relative strength gain of Russia; maybe China too.
No one trusts Russia either so Trump has put America in the same pig pen as Russia to wallow in.
I can hear the echoes of people saying “why should I care about US politics?”
This is one example. The biggest problems we face as humanity can only be solved with a global effort.
We should get to the point of being knowledgeable about the WHOs function, current financial support and reasons thereof, and what we can do to support its functions. Focusing on what another country does or does not, even if related to a common resource it’s a waste of time at best.
… Except what a country does or does not do directly impacts the WHOs functions and financial support, so… Kind of important.
There are many contributors, some substantially more than others, and any of them leaving will have an impact on the efficacy of the WHO.
For a program that has such a profound impact, that seems like such a small budget. It’s a shame that the US cuts $116M to save precious money, while maintaining $16 billion in, for example, petroleum subsidies.
Exactly. $116M is absolutely inconsequential to the budget and by extension the American people. What the WHO produces has a huge impact on all people, including, yup American people. So the American people are only losing here.
Everyone loses. That’s the painful part.
These contributions are so small. I wouldn’t mind if my own country increased their contributions to WHO by 20% to make up for this shortfall.
The biggest problem is that the WHO is a worldwide health organization. Without cooperation from the States, there could be huge health impacts elsewhere that could have been otherwise averted. Will other countries also pull out?
It is.
Its a shockingly stupid decision. Not surprising considering the administration, but incredibly stupid.
That’s what I was thinking except I was thinking about the military. Why are the numbers for health so much lower than for war. It’s not a little lower it’s multiple zeroes lower and that’s not just the US. The UK is paying $22m to the WHO but has a military budget more than 3,000 times larger!
Wait, those numbers are freaking tiny as fuck…
I wonder how the amount that should be paid is divvied out. Or if it is all just voluntary. I was thinking Europe was quite outsized, so it could be by wealth, but also Japan seems quite large and Russia fairly tiny.
I was going to ask why the US was contributing 20% of the WHO budget, but it looks like the US produces about 25% of the world’s total GDP.
Oh no, when Trump hears that he’s going to threaten to tarrif the US until they carry their weight, right? /s
People will die. Literally increasing morbidity AND mortality on purpose. WTaF?!?!
The american elite managed to convince ordinary americans that evil foreigners are to blame for all their problems. This is something you notice if you follow US media.
They are just whining about how China, Europe, Mexico, Canada, the World Health Organization has been super unfair to them. Even Africa is blamed !
It’s complete non-sense.
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Lack of healthcare : Barack Obama tried a small improvement with his Affordable Healthcare Act. He faced unprecedented hatred. People accused him of being “radical communist”. He had to beg Congress members to pass the bill.
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Drugs : One criminal family, the Sacklers, bribed doctors and dentists to overprescribe oxicotyn. The FDA didn’t act until it was too late. The result was an unprecedented opioid crisis that quickly turned into a heroin crisis. Prosecutors refuse to prosecute the Sackler family.
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Bad infrastructure : George W. Bush spent $1 trillion dollar on the Irak war. Okay. What exactly did he get in return…? Are americans better off? Are Irakis better off? Contractors just swallowed the cash. China used their money to build a world class high speed train network.
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Gun violence : Well, they sell guns like candies. Any 18 year old psycho can easily purchase a gun and shoot up the local school or movie theater.
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Lack of affordable housing : American zoning rules prevent high density housing from being built. Look at San Francisco or LA. Individual houses but people are struggling to get a roof over their head.
Their problems are all caused by americans.
But unfortunately, many of them now think the rest of the world is to blame.
Average voter: both sides have issues
The american elite managed to convince ordinary americans that evil foreigners are to blame for all their problems.
No they didn’t. Millions of Americans already believed this and were waiting only for permission to externalize it.
As an American, fuck America.
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