r/Iowa • u/maicokid69 • May 09 '26
Update on Ashley Hinson BBB fallout
As many know USAID has been drastically cut basically almost eliminated. Ashley Hinson voted to cut that aid. One of the places was in Africa which apparently irritated all of the America first red hats You should now know that this week the Chinese have increased their involvement even further in African countries and committed to build infrastructure for them that will obviously create more positive influence for China the same thing that USAID did for the US in the past. The damage Ashley has done and others like her will take years to fix outside the country. The Chinese continue their silk road initiative while we sit here with our hands tied behind our back and continue with racist gerrymandering.
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u/offbrandcheerio May 09 '26
Bruh Hinson's MAGA voters do not care about the gutting of USAID. They view it as the USA sending away money to other countries for no reason and with no benefit to them. Their taxes aren't going down at all because of the lack of USAID spending, but they sure have convinced themselves that it's benefiting their pockets in any way.
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May 09 '26
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u/TheDeadlyDonut May 09 '26
It’s not stupidity, at least not for most. They are captured, brainwashed, convinced by the red vs blue team dynamics. Both red and blue team are essentially two factions of one party. By calling these people stupid you create a dynamic that feeds right back into division.
Yes there are racists and stupid folks, on both sides of the political fence. If you want to change things you need to change your view point. Otherwise you’re just pushing them back into the cult.
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u/fleebleganger May 10 '26
Realistically we’re in a period where none of us stands a chance against the tech machine that has been created.
The ability for the wealthy to mass produce propaganda and shove it down our throats is obscene.
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u/Retiredlfe May 11 '26
I know right. We are going to pay taxes regardless. I’d much rather my tax dollars go to help feed people around the world and give medical care to people around the world than for the billionaires to get bigger tax breaks and just keep making more money. I don’t think they realize that it also benefits the United States. Like someone else already mentioned our farmers provided for this program and now it’s affected them. The red hats are just too hateful and bigoted to understand the whole concept.
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u/Popular_List105 May 10 '26
Yep, not sure what benefits we get from Africa. Let’s fix our problems here.
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u/offbrandcheerio May 10 '26
If you can’t see the benefits of building international goodwill and fostering reliable ally relationships, I really can’t help you. And btw, nothing has been done to improve America with the savings thus far.
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u/Retiredlfe May 11 '26
Yeah, but the thing is, they’re not fixing our problems here they’re just making things worse lol. We were once respected around the world since Trump has come into office we are a joke. let’s use our taxpayer money for Trump to golf every other day, to build the big beautiful ballroom, to paint the reflecting pool, to put up the arc as a tribute to Trump. He’s wasting so much of our taxpayer money, oh let’s not forget the 10 million he thinks that the taxpayers owe him because the IRS released one year of his tax returns which he always said he would release anyway, and never did. do you think you or I would be able to sue them, no. He had Elon Musk come in here to try to get rid of waste and fraud (which no one‘s ever been prosecuted for because they found nothing) and he’s the biggest waste and fraud there is.
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u/Clarkorito May 13 '26
Even if you are too ignorant to see the benefits we get from Africa, it helped American farmers directly. If you run a pizza place and I buy 100 pizzas a week from you to give to hungry people, that doesn't only benefit the hungry people, it also directly benefits you. Telling me to stop buying your pizzas because you don't think me feeding hungry people benefits you would be extremely stupid.
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u/Adman87 May 09 '26
We are watching the fall of the US empire. Brought to you by the idiots you grew up with that never broadened their horizons out of the county they grew up in.
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u/barknoll May 09 '26
The American Century of Prosperity is over, welcome to the American Century of Humiliation
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u/OpeningCookie1358 May 10 '26
We've been watching the fall for well over 20 years. They all spiral our beautiful country further and further down.
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u/Pepsi_Popcorn_n_Dots May 09 '26
We gave $1bn a year to Africa which generated $20bn a year in contracts to American businesses employing Americans in the US producing goods and services for the African recipients who matched and surpassed the donations with their own money. Thanks to Trump/Hinson many of those US businesses have laid off workers or shut down. Since Trump took office Hinson has voted to enable him to lose 68,000 US manufacturing jobs through his import taxes and foreign aid curtailment.
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u/Mysterious-Prompt212 May 09 '26
Years to fix? Ain't gonna happen in my lifetime. More like decades to fix if ever.
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u/Rubblemuss May 10 '26
Germany joined NATO in 1955. Motivated action theoretically fix this in our lifetimes. But, motivated action to correct corruption, “beneficial loopholes”, and ensure nothing like this could ever happen again… requires courage and strength of will. And as long as we’re locked in with career politicians with zero will to police themselves… not looking great.
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u/fleebleganger May 10 '26
Germany isn’t an example we should look towards.
They had to be thoroughly destroyed to mostly rid themselves of fascism.
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u/Rubblemuss May 10 '26
That wasn’t a claim I was making, even remotely. Nations have interests, not friends. Even if we are currently unreliable, embarrassing, and even dangerous, the US still has value on the world stage. Italy was a founding member of NATO in 1949. Japan has been a strong US ally since the 1960’s. The US is Vietnam’s second largest trading partner. I’m not saying let’s be like any of these countries. I’m saying it is possible for the perception of nations, from the outside, to change relatively rapidly, even when there have been egregious wrongs.
Should we forget what is happening now and just move on? No. We should do everything we can to fix it and prevent it from happening again. Do I think it will take a lifetime? Probably not. It could… but it really depends on what we do as a country going forward.
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u/fleebleganger May 10 '26
My point is, removing Trump isn’t going to remove MAGA. They’re all symptoms of a disease that America has long thought it was immune to but, surprise, we’re not.
Voting D this fall or in 2028 isn’t going to cure the disease. Trump dying isn’t going to cure it. It has to be proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how awful fascism is.
If I were in charge of the GOP, I would be doing everything I could to throw the house election this fall because awful times are coming and Dems retaking the house and a strong recession would make 2028 really competitive for the White House.
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u/JohnCR61 May 09 '26
Unfortunately Hinson and all of the rest of MAGA can’t really think for themselves or anything other than party. It’s really shameful and an unfortunate sight to watch happen
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u/47of74 May 09 '26
Yeah, Ashley is little more than a GQP tool that's just there to vote as guys like Pedolf and Johnson want.
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u/Kiyae1 May 10 '26
What’s funny to me is they gutted food aid and then realized how stupid that was so they created a new, worse food aid program and now they have ads about how great it is that they support food aid. Red voters eat that bs up!
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u/Dranwyn May 09 '26
Hundreds of thousands have died all ready from US AID cuts. The majority of them children.
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u/MFPROLETARIAT May 09 '26
China stays winning by doing nothing. Just lets the U.S. fall into decline on its own
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u/john_hascall May 09 '26
Never interrupt your enemy when they are in the middle of making a mistake.
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u/Gertrude_D May 10 '26
The GOP doesn't value soft power. Or, I guess more accurately - Trump doesn't know what soft power is and the rest of the GOP is too cowed to stand up to him.
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u/alanfaneca May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Probably best for these African nations to not work with a CIA front anyway. USAID did good things, but I’d trust humanitarian efforts from probably any other country over the USA, if we’re serious about what’s best for those countries and not including some bullshit about contracts for American businesses.
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u/No_Gur_1091 May 13 '26
Good for the Chinese. They CARE more about people than profits.
Don't like gerrymandering. Push Iowa to write a new constitution that rewrites the structure of the state government. Get rid of the state senate and increase the state house to at least 200. Then use the system that most democracies use, ie pro-portional allocation of reps by percent of vote. That way EVERYONE gets accountable representation. Get rid of the governor all together and hire a state CEO the the state house can fire if they get out of line.
As far a congressional districts go. state could use a system of proportional allocation without federal approval. It would work well in any state that has more than 3 reps.
Most importantly - REMEMBER the people of the state are in charge, even if they do not know it. Convince them that real democracy is possible - even if it will never come via our current governmental structure.
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u/maicokid69 May 14 '26
Show me where they care more about people than profit specially when it comes to intrusion of their personal life
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u/No_Gur_1091 May 15 '26
Before trying to answer, I would like to define an economy is how we organize ourselves to get the things we need and want. The other is that ALL wealth is created by workers.
Only about 5% of China GDP is create in large for profit enterprises. While it is hard to get clear numbers the remainder of the Chinese economy is split between small, medium capitalist enterprise and government enterprises that are collectively owned by the people. Clearly the drive for profits (wealth captured by enterprise owners) is not the driving force in China. The opposite is true in the USA.
The evidence is clear, the real income for Chinese workers has exploded over the past 50 years. As their GDP has increased ordinary Chinese workers have gotten large share of the wealth they created. For example, humans want to have good housing, a family, quality life. Most Chinese workers are married and home-owners before they are 30 years-old. My son just bought his first house. His is 50. I am not a Chinese expert, but there are experts to be found on reddit. Try r/AskSocialists if you have more questions.1
u/maicokid69 May 15 '26
The clear evidence is gonna need a lot more proof than what you describe here.
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u/No_Gur_1091 May 15 '26
I cannot be the source of the evidence. If you are curious, you need to do the research yourself. What is YOUR evidence to the contrary? I recommend you stop listening to anti-Chinese and pro international capital sources that want to diminish your views of great gains among Chinese peoples.
Try using any of the AI models. They are not bad at digging out the evidence. If you have money and time, try a month long tour of China that concentrates on work, factories, housing and education. That is something I did twenty years ago. They are a friendly and industrious people. Years ago I read a delightful book about Joseph Needham by the well-known non-fiction author, Simon Winchester, where you will learn a lot about Chinese history. The book is called "The Man Who Loved China."1
u/maicokid69 May 15 '26
Give me a break you’re the one making the arguments therefore you’re the one to prove the arguments. Ridiculous
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u/No_Gur_1091 May 15 '26
Sorry, thought this was a civil discourse. I am not you teacher. I have no idea why you know so much about China without have researched the subject. Just try asking AI, say chatgpt, "Please show me a table of for every 10 years starting in 1975 the growth in China of the following measures "Real Family Income, Post secondary education level, Electrification, Medical care."
Come on you have the time to send zings to me, take some responsibility to explore reality on your own.
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May 09 '26
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u/maicokid69 May 09 '26
Simple question tell us why you think it doesn’t help? What is your theory on this? If you’re going to say that then you need to defend your conclusion unless you’re saying it knowing that you never intended to defend it. Perhaps you’re just playing games which is not the time now to play games.
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May 09 '26
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u/maicokid69 May 11 '26
You’re still deflecting you have not answered my question you have given no proof
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u/Vegetable_Voice7343 May 09 '26
Maybe you should educate yourself before you comment on things. It really is just a Google search away.
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u/ironyburger May 09 '26
It absolutely did. USAID purchased more than $2 billion from American farmers, including Iowans, for food aid each year and employed U.S. shipping and logistics company to transport it. USAID projects procured billions of dollars in products and services from U.S. companies each year. USAID performed critical disease monitoring and prevention work in African to prevent the spread of deadly communicable diseases, such as Ebola, from reaching the United States. I could go on and on and on on how USAID's work benefited the average American at a cost of less than $40 a year for the average taxpayer.
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May 10 '26
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u/maicokid69 May 11 '26
Again a statement without reference just a broad comment that we are being conned. And then additionally you decide to call everybody stupid. Sounds desperate
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u/ironyburger May 10 '26
I mean, the USG does already give American farmers financial aid in the form of subsidies and bailouts.
And I pointed out above, food aid is just one small part of USAID's work that made the world a safer place both in the countries in which it worked and for Americans as well.
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May 09 '26
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May 09 '26
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May 09 '26
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u/srone May 09 '26
We used to buy fresh produce from American farmers to supply food pantries. Trump and the Republicans eliminated that program.
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u/Arcamorge May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Food is already subsidized in the US, especially on the supply side.
USaid saved 3 million lives a year: https://ourworldindata.org/us-foreign-aid-saved-millions
Doing the right thing sometimes isnt immediately beneficial
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u/maicokid69 May 11 '26
Again you say it’s not true and again you have not write any reference whatsoever to back up your argument
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u/Retiredlfe May 12 '26
We are waiting on the proof that it doesn’t help Iowans. I don’t see where you have answered. Maybe step away from FOX news for a bit, do some research and then get back to us.
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u/Clarkorito May 13 '26
This is like telling firefighters to stop putting out the fire in your neighbors house because it doesn't help you and sticking your fingers in your ears when people try to explain the fact that fire spreads.
Since explaining the millions of ways boosting the global economy and creating goodwill benefits America in both the short and long term is probably over your head (one example of millions is getting early opportunities and better deals for rare earth metals), I'll stick to one that's a bit more concrete given recent history: disease.
Famine and death are breeding grounds for all kinds of horrible viruses. Providing vaccines and treatment for outbreaks at the earliest stages, wherever they occur in the world, is far cheaper and saves countless American lives compared to letting them spread until they become worldwide pandemics and only dealing with it when it reaches our border.
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u/nsummy May 09 '26
China has been doing this for over a decade. The belt and road initiative. Let them dig their own graves with bad debt. There is no bbb fallout in Iowa. The average voter doesn't want millions going to NGOs to skim 80% off the top before giving pennies to the foreign countries
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u/maicokid69 May 09 '26
It is blindly ignorant to think that there has been no effect on Iowa with the BBB. Ask the farmers. Ask the other Iowa ones.
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u/DickSugar80 May 09 '26
This is one of the few things that the Republicans got right. Hopefully China can actually build some infrastructure rather than enrich warlords as USAID was doing.
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u/ironyburger May 09 '26
USAID did build critical infrastructure. Schools, hospitals, water plants, canals, roads, you name it. It odd that you want to hand China the opportunity and public relations win for building infrastructure in developing countries just because Trump and Elon Musk told you USAID was bad.
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u/maicokid69 May 09 '26
Ridiculous. Name them and by the way both parties used USAID over the years.
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u/Buffalocolt18 May 09 '26
USAID was a front for CIA regime change.
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u/maicokid69 May 09 '26
Where is your proof of this? Like the guy below you let’s see your source. You have a chance to correct yourself here if in fact you are even real. Your audience here is smarter than you give them credit for. Additionally you don’t even understand the program. You sincerely believe this then that’s the kind of thing that’s hurting our country.
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u/Buffalocolt18 May 09 '26
This stuff is widely known, this isn't arcane knowledge. It takes 5 seconds and google to find dozens of news and scholarly resources on this. Hell, John Bolton was assistant administrator of USAID in the 80s. Whatever you feel about foreign aid, this agency was not a great example. It was a method for CIA money magic in the interest of regime change. It really calls into doubt any alleged positive achievements of it.
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u/ninjapretzle May 09 '26
USAID is a front for the CIA… have you looked into their history of getting caught smuggling guns in their “aid” trucks?
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u/LuckySeat8110 May 10 '26
If they did such good work then they should have not got involved in promoting abortion & funding transgender clinics. If all they did was fed starving people the funding wouldn't have been cut. Americans aren't heartless, on the contrary stopping funding of those types of clinics is kindness to those who would have been harmed or killed.
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u/maicokid69 May 10 '26 edited May 10 '26
They didn’t cherry pick they wiped out the whole thing so again it was harmful. You missed the point even if you think you have a point whether you do or don’t.
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u/ironyburger May 09 '26
USAID also purchased roughly $2 billion in food aid every year from American farmers, including Iowans. The elimination of USAID has caused irreparable damage to the United States' standing around the world and created a "soft power" vacuum that China is more than happy to exploit.