Would this Help Poor Nations?

Question

Some of these poor nations owe the United States millions or billions of dollars. To "just forgive" the debt not only sets a bad precedent, but it gives the country no incentive to get their house in order.

I have an idea.

What if we told a nation that they could pay us in LAND? That is, we would specifiy several vast tracts of land (each would have water supplies and certain benefits that we wish to obtain).

If given to us in exchange for debt. It become American territory.

But several good things happen:

We create jobs for the other nation when we come to settle.

We agree to trade and commerce with them, further enriching them.

They are now debt-free to America.

We agree to buy certain resources (for settling) from them. And as industry and business and schools come, they can partake.

Our military presence serves as an umbrella of protection and order to the surrounding nations.

Etc.

Thoughts?

Answer 1

Yes.
Brilliant. Thank you.

(These Poor Nations are just like Democrats, everytime the taxpayers give them a Hand-Out, they want More & Bigger Handouts.)

Answer 2

Talk about giving the socialists a field day!

They would make mincemeat out of us in the press.

I think it's a great idea, if it was purely voluntary.

In fact, we do it all the time. That's where a lot of our bases come from. However, you are talking about something much wider.

As much as socialists try to use "colonialist Americans" as a way to insult us, they forget that the most recent and most flagrant colonialists of the twentieth century have been the communist/socialist nations of the world (ex.: China, Russia), taking over dozens of other countries around them.

WE forget that we are in competition with them when they cry, "BE FAIR," and then proceed with doing exactly what they don't want us to do.

The socialists in this country take up a rallying cry, and rather than "look bad" we give in.

I like the idea, but there are a few problems: nationalization by angry governments that don't get the freebees they want; difficulties in protecting a far-flung empire; the vulnerability to attack by terrorists in the midst of WWIII.

Answer 3

So what you are saying is those countries trapped by debt they should never have been allowed to get into with interest rates they could never keep up with should now submit to Conquest by Capitalism?

Sell their country and their freedom to be forgiven a debt you let them walk into?

And in return you make a load of promises that will be abandoned the first time it suits America

No and no one would ever take up such a crass deal, and by putting the water sources in the list your just trying to turn america into a petty tyrant, oh give us your river and in return we will give you jobs but dont do what we want and no water during the drought for you,


Forgive the debt BUT as a condition they can never borrow again

or they can keep it, there are countries where if every penny of Tax and Trade was spent paying off theyd be doing it for decades to pay off,

Answer 4

My first thought was that the U.S. must occupy the land we obtain. Occupation is not nice...never really wanted, especially by current occupants of the land. Also, there is not a lot of desireable land in possession of "poor nations" (Such as:Sudan, Hatti, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, etc.) But hey, you're thinking about it. Maybe it may be feasbile for the right country under the right circumstances

Answer 5

So should we pay China in land for our debt? Would that give us greater incentive to pay off our national debt?

Answer 6

Would take decades to complete cost millions of dollars and they would collapse without our help.

"You can give a man a fish or teach him how to be a fisherman."

"The best help you can give someone is to tell them to help themselves"

Answer 7

er.... don't think they would agree...

a low interest rate would be a much more common sense solution...