From the American people?
TRIGGER WARNING
If you heard a story about a man who exploited a neighbor to the point of starvation and just before each point of physical collapse gave him a spoon full of rice, would you call that man generous? Is the man more or less virtuous when you uncover that the spoon of rice he gave them meant the countrymen he exploited back at home did starve?
Does it matter? Or is it just another day in realpolitik? In which case, can we skip the crocodile tears? Haven’t we sort of seen this all before? In fact, we kind of see it often – that is the rapid and abrupt closure of departments, offices, programs and funding at a grantors or financiers whim. In fact, most occurrences are through the cyclical ebbs and flow of financial and trade markets. Remember when the auto industry vanished from the American mid west? When Lehman collapsed? Or how about when structural adjustment policies went out of fashion (but were mostly rebranded despite correlation to socio-political unrest in fragile democracies).
I suppose the vibe is off because HQs of overseas development agencies in the Western hemisphere seem oddly immune to genuine introspection. Is it possible this is why they are now at the epicenter of job losses? However controversial, in the past, mass job losses were global south problems (and certainly not a function of member contributions to multilateral organizations).
Worth noting that very old, large and largely private family farms in the American heartland can continue to breathe deep – like a truly free person does best. Courtesy of US.GOV, the Trump Administration will grant waivers for certain food aid so decades of American farming surplus will continue to distort local markets and food systems in developing economies.
All that’s to say, with the proliferation of AI round the corner; and poverty’s penchant for ingenuity, I bet my mobile money we will finally learn to fish or die trying to board Space X.
And 2 more cents you didn’t ask for, but very well may need soon: I always found Food For Peace an odd name for a humanitarian program. How vanquished must the defeated be that they would trade sovereignty and self-reliance for food?
Adieu USAID. Hate how it happened, not mad that it did. Put best by JFK, the President that founded USAID back in 1961,
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.
Let’s see what comes next. Resilience and adaptability often emerge from struggle and failure but above all else: collaboration, community and a single small step at a time.
Sure, the gaps and the chaos are unsettling. But I do wonder what innovations and adaptations vulnerable communities and their true allies will create in its stead – as they have done through the annals of time.
If you hear of any interesting homegrown or African diaspora-led innovations, enterprises or solutions that emerge as a result – do share! It’s the sort of thing that fuels our fire around here. Send ideas, connects plus decks to info@bitesizecapital.com
Bitesize Capital 
Leave a comment