Please, won’t someone think of the children?

As the socialist country of Haiti continues to count their dead other countries around the world are starting to compete on who can send the most aid. The papers are filled with reports on how rescue workers have arrived, and how money is taken from treasuries and sent to one of the most corrupt places on the planet.

Just as if starving, dying from the cold weather and very poor people doesn’t exist in other countries.

Sure no matter what the immediate help would have been necessary, but if Haitians had embraced the warmth of personal freedom and the justice of capitalism before this earthquake, then very few people would have died and the dire circumstances would have been reduced to patching up a couple of buildings.

Instead of sending money, that we know will partly be stolen or end up in the hands of politicians and other criminals, we should be sending them instruction manuals and some books on how they can strengthen their country with free markets, sound money, and individual liberty. And if our own elected frauds feel better by sending millions of our tax money, at least we should insist that that money comes with demands for Haitians to free their country.

Von Mises institute also have an entry on the same subject: read here

Don’t get caught up in the hype and send money without thinking. It may make you feel better, but that shouldn’t be the point. The point should be to help them rebuild and guide them down the right path so they in the future never need to have a similar situation again. Think of the children, not only those of today but also tomorrow. In a couple of years time when things have settled, either they have started to free themselves and introduced capitalism or they again are back in the same track and again face a future with bad housing, hardly any medical care and a starving populace hence back to a situation where any natural disaster or gangs can further destroy their country.

It is not about sending help and aid; it’s about sending the right ones.