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July 28, 2005
Someone is awake over there
U.S. military operational commander in Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya is hiring Afghans to do simple manual labor like rebuilding clinics and schools. That's a great idea. People who end their day exhausted from manual labor with some coin in their pocket aren't likely to strike with rage at their employers. In fact, with a GDP per capita of $800, we could employ the whole country for just 21.5 billion a year. This is a fantastic idea, even if the projects don't have a humongous economic return. Aid seems to work better when it is distributed most locally, so this is a great way to actively spend all that aid. You get money to the people who need it most, you protect the populace, and you get much of the infrastructure you need. Maybe you get lucky and you kick start a middle class too. Doing the same thing in Iraq would only cost 89.8 billion, which is less than the cost of fielding the troops.
Posted by OneEyedMan at July 28, 2005 6:36 PM
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