If the Obama administration is at all serious about reforming the United Nations, it can begin by pressing to change the formulation of U.N. dues, which are up for revision.This is the same Heritage Foundation that got more than $23 million between 1985 and 2007. The same Heritage Foundation that touts Richard Mellon Scaife as Vice Chairman of its Board of Trustees and so on.
This is an opportunity -- it only comes every three years -- for the U.S. to gain a meaningful say in efficiency, transparency and accountability at Turtle Bay. Without change to a system that's grossly tilted against the U.S., America will remain but one ineffectual voice while other nations that pay a pittance drive the U.N.'s agenda.
Never mind that the U.S. pays an outlandish share: 22 percent of the U.N. regular budget and almost 26 percent of its peacekeeping fund. The fact that more than 80 percent of both budgets is paid by only the top 15 U.N. contributors is outrageous.
So while the U.S. is expected to pay $598 million for the U.N.'s 2010 regular budget, 54 countries assessed at a far lower rate (0.001 percent of the U.N. budget) would each pony up just over $25,000, notes Brett D. Schaefer of The Heritage Foundation.
December 27, 2009
More On Scaife Tribbing The Heritage Foundation
From today's editorial page at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
and your point is Davey???
ReplyDeleteI believe Dayvoe's point is fairly clear, but I will let him respond to your question.
ReplyDeleteI will say that the Trib editors and the Heritage Foundation willfully ignore the actual value of the UN to the US. I know conservatives are pissed that our supposed enemies use the UN as a platform for issuing anti-American rhetoric (actually they have done that since the early sixties). But I believe that the UN was a valuable outlet for negotiation during the cold war, and is a valuable for third world nations that might otherwise sponsor terrorism. Plus our contribution to the peacekeeping fund helps stabilize third world nations, as does our support for other UN activities. We get a lot from the UN for a relatively small amount of money.
Richie;
ReplyDeleteI am pointing out yet another conflict-of-interest involving the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and the Heritage Foundation.
The details of the editorial are beside the point. Scaife shuttles hundreds of thousands of dollars to Heritage every year. Heritage publishes studies that Scaife's paper then pushes on the public - without ever disclosing the very close relationship.
Guys
ReplyDeletethat's like Media Matters getting money from the Democracy Alliance while pushing Soros' progressive agenda.It happens on both sides of the aisle.
Ed as for the UN,it's not the same as it was in the 50'-60's even the 70's. The post-colonial UN is a mishmash of dictators,petty despots,oil-rich monarchs,and America haters. Fools like Chavez from Venezuela are applauded in Copenhagen for calling for the death of Capitalism...the backbone of America....what has the UN done to rein in Iran or North Korea?