In a “up yours” jester to American taxpayers, on 9/5 the US Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded a $20 million contract to a Jakarta based Indonesian International Education Foundation to enable 100 “emerging” Indonesian leaders to pursue Masters and Ph.D study in the U.S. It falls under the Program to Extend Scholarships and Training To Achieve Sustainable Impacts (PRESTASI II).
Few noticed that in 2010 Obama signed a Presidential Policy Directive on U.S. Global Development Policy reflecting the government’s support of principles espoused by the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Subsequent Accra Agenda for Action. The longer the title, the more it cost taxpayers. Bush was the first to sign the Paris Declaration but Obama is working overtime to put it into action.
The USAID is also pouring another $90 million into public as well as Islamic Schools through Prioritizing Reform, Innovation and Opportunities for Reaching Indonesia’s Teachers, Administrators and Students (PRIORITAS), an endeavor preceded by a similar program valued at about $167 million under Bush.
Earlier this year USAID launched a Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) in which they plan to infuse another $20 million into Indonesia in an effort to develop world class higher education institutions and prepare students to be successful leaders.
I have nothing against Indonesia but don’t you think that $130 million would go a long way into retraining unemployed American workers or awarding scholarships to underprivileged students in the U.S. that can not afford a higher education?
Is there a federal law that American taxpayers must always get the shaft?
