ARE WE STINGY?

I’m pleased once again to include a post by Daniel Gross, my good friend and fellow cultural anthropologist. Dan’s background includes teaching at Hunter College, writing an anthropology textbook, a directorship at NSF, and several years at the World Bank, which enabled him to travel worldwide. Now retired like me, he is free to write on issues he cares about. Currently, he has his finger on the pulse of rural northern Georgia. His piece pairs nicely with my own most recent post on Emerging Diseases.

by Daniel R. Gross

Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump, assisted by Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, began dismantling USAID (the U.S. Agency for International Development), responsible for planning and distributing aid to developing countries.

Much of USAID’s funding returned to the United States in the form of contracts with U.S.-based suppliers and consultants, supporting American jobs and expertise. But the programs themselves reached some of the most vulnerable people in the world — those facing urgent problems of health, nutrition, and education.

Among these efforts was PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), which provided technical assistance and lifesaving antiretroviral medications to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in several African countries. Without this support, thousands are now at risk of dying without access to essential treatment.

USAID also provided food and humanitarian aid to refugees such as the Rohingya of Myanmar, who were forced into squalid camps in impoverished Bangladesh. Similar programs delivered nutritional and health assistance to refugees in Sudan and beyond. The agency also supported programs ensuring safe, clean childbirth for mothers in countries lacking adequate medical facilities such as Ethiopia.

The so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” further reduced funding for essential health programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. Millions of Americans will lose access to adequate medical care as a result. Meanwhile, thousands of employees at the CDC and NIH have been fired, creating a growing crisis in public health.

More recently, the political impasse between Republicans and Democrats caused a month-long government shutdown that halted critical programs, including the nutritional assistance initiatives known as SNAP and WIC. Although the Department of Agriculture has sufficient resources, the President had to be ordered by a federal judge to release funds to SNAP, an order that remains unfulfilled.

Here in North Georgia, we understand the needs of poor families, the elderly. single mothers, and veterans in our communities. These challenges are not confined to our region; they exist nationwide and around the world. Many citizens have stepped up through churches and local organizations to help, but even with their generosity, food banks and charitable donations cannot meet the overwhelming needs for food and healthcare.

And yet, we are witnessing a troubling pattern: resources are being withheld, reduced or denied to those who need them most, both at home and abroad.

So, we must ask ourselves: Does this mean we are stingy people, heartlessly indifferent to the suffering of others? Or is our government driven by an ideology so extreme that it has lost sight of compassion, justice, and basic humanity?