Debbie Schlussel: Want the U.S. Government to Fund Half of Your Business? . . .
. . . Become an Iraqi.
Today's USA Today notes that the U.S. government is now giving Iraqis
grants that pay up to half of what Iraqis need to start a business."This is my golden opportunity," [Hamid] Hussein said. "Nobody before offered such a great favor to jobless people."
And nobody offered it to jobless Americans, either. So, why are Americans paying for 1/2 of new businesses for Iraqis? And by the way, the government isn't even doing the vetting. It's giving the money and the job of vetting to the politically-charged Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce. Bad move.
I'm all for helping Iraq become a civilization (if that's possible). But to treat Iraqis better than we treat Americans is a little ridiculous. The article, entitled "U.S. Grants Help Iraqis Launch Business Dreams," begs the question:
What about Americans' business dreams?--Don't they deserve launching?
This is going way overboard and way beyond our duty as Americans. If we aren't going to fund 1/2 of all new businesses for Americans on American soil, don't do it for them.
Oh, and what was that about us going into Iraq "for cheap oil" and funding 1/2 of all new Iraqi business start-ups?
Posted by Debbie on July 27, 2007 03:50 PM to Debbie Schlussel