Dear editor,
As many college students can attest, including myself, debt is difficult burden. My student loan bills will be in the neighborhood of $600 a month with no guarantee of a job. The people reading this letter probably have their own debts – credit cards, loans and mortgages. These sorts of financial obligations mean that I can’t afford health insurance. Financially, I don’t know how I could survive a broken bone or serious illness, and I’m sure there are other Americans with the same kinds of problems.
Now look at the plight of Haiti, a nation that faces many more difficult burdens on an international scale. As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti’s lack of infrastructure and acute poverty make what would have been a horrendous natural disaster even worse. In other words, Haiti also can’t afford that broken bone.
While the world has come together in an outpouring of support, their road to recovery will be a long and arduous one. To help Haiti not only in the short-term but also in the long term, the world should forgive Haiti’s international debt, which totals $1 billion. To put it in perspective, the International Monetary Fund estimates that Haiti’s gross domestic product is about $6.9 billion – Haiti is in debt for about 13 percent of its income. And the World Bank estimates that recovering from the earthquake will cost Haiti 15 percent of its GDP! Under that kind of pressure, it’s absurd to think that Haiti will not only recover from this natural disaster and also someday become a productive member of a global economy.
We need to make sure that this devastated nation has every available chance to recover and secure a better future. The United States has already forgiven the debt Haiti owes us directly. But institutions that the U.S. has major influence with, like the International Monetary Fund, still have not forgiven Haiti’s debt. Many Americans can understand the burden of overwhelming debt as individuals. It is time for us to encourage the institutions that have not forgiven the nation of Haiti’s debt to do so.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has the power to convince these institutions to do the right thing. As a ONE member, I ask that Secretary Geithner use his influence to persuade international lending institutions and countries to drop Haiti’s debt once and for all.
Sincerely,
Nicole Miller
Temple ONE Campus Leader
hey genius, since when is our nation under any obligation to relinquish funds to other nations ailing or not? it isn’t. if you want to do this then ammend the us constitution. also, who is going to forgive our mounting debt when crisis strikes us? no one.
i’m all for private aid, and individuals helping out. but government’s and militaries do nothing right, especially caring for the needy.
You should have gotten a J.O.B. during college. Sucks for you that you have $600 a month in loans without a guarantee of a job. If you haven’t forgotten, Haiti is extremely anti-American and why should we be obligated to give even more money to them? But again, I’m sure you view the world through lenses of CNN. Shouldn’t worry about salvaging our fledging US economy first? And lastly, how much did you borrow? I had $20,000 in student loans and my monthly bill was only $140 a month. Talk about poor budgetary management… By the way, I worked my butt off and have zero student loans 2 years out of college.
“i’m all for private aid, and individuals helping out. but government’s and militaries do nothing right, especially caring for the needy.”
And you’re an idiot for this quote, seems you have extensive international aid and military experience… I wonder what organization has the capacity to deliver humanitarian aid on massive scale that we witnessed, other then the US Military. The United Nations? NOPE. Ask the average Haitian and I’m sure they are glad that we stepped in versus waiting on their inept government for help.