“I suggest that GOP presidential candidates apply … personal finance principles to evaluate why foreign aid is worth the investment,” Samuel Worthington, president of InterAction, writes in a CNN opinion piece. He says foreign aid is “like an insurance premium” because it is a small portion of the federal budget but “small cash outlays can prevent major expenses later,” such as investing in food security to prevent famine. Small investments now will help “today’s aid recipients [become] tomorrow’s consumers of American exports,” which helps support domestic jobs, he writes.

“Foreign aid’s real price tag is a bargain compared with what it’s worth to taxpayers,” he adds, noting “polling shows that Americans are willing to spend 10 times what the government now allocates to foreign aid.” Worthington concludes, “I urge GOP candidates to frame their position on foreign aid based on what Americans want: To safeguard their wallets and show compassion for people suffering overseas” (11/22).