Reply #3: Don't get angry about it... it's actually good in the long run.

[rooboy]

I don't think many people know how Beijing got the votes to host the 2008 Olympics. They won the nomination because they spent lots of money in Africa by providing sports stadiums and other infrastructure to countries whose vote they wanted.

This sort of thing goes on in the Pacific Islands, for example. The Japanese, Taiwanese, Australians and others regularly compete to provide aid to small countries in the hope (and expectation) that good things will come of it. Why did Australia step in to help East Timor gain independence? So we could get our hands on their huge oilfields, that's why...

You only have to look at how much money was poured into Japan via the Marshall Plan to see what influence (and loyalty) money can buy.

So as America falls for the right-wing rhetoric of "why should my taxes pay to help people", other nations step into the void and increase their presence. Long term, this sort of thing only serves to bite the USA in the ass.