Tough Questions and Possible Answers
The following are examples of questions you may be asked and different ways of handling them. Responses labeled "method" are theoretically based on your own experience overseas. Responses labeled "facts" are based on objective sources. (See the Center for Globa Development's publication A Primer on Foreign Aid - Working Paper 92 in this Share the Experience guide for more information.) No matter what the question, remember:
- DON'T be afraid to state the limitations of your knowledge of such complex fields as world economic and political relationships.
- DO keep in mind that every "tough question" is an opportunity for you to point out other resources to the audience.
1. "If farmers in developing countries grow more food, won't that hurt U.S. ag exports?"
Method
- Describe what American products, agricultural and otherwise, you saw being used in the country(ies) in which you worked.
- Show how your assistance made American products all the more affordable and desirable.
Facts
Explain that most people in developing countries are farmers. Growing more food is, therefore, how they increase their incomes. With more income, they become more prosperous—better able to purchase more, higher-quality and more diverse kinds of food than what they can grow themselves. To meet these needs they import from other countries such as the United States. According to the National Association of Wheat Growers, "Several research studies show that agricultural imports will usually increase because people use their increasing incomes to consume more food and to upgrade their diets."
2. "Why should we spend money helping countries overseas, when we've got so many social, economic and political problems at home?"
Method
Invite people to consider the interdependence that already exists in economics, health issues, politics, science, technology, the environment, sports, etc.
Respond with another question: "Don't the problems of other countries easily cross borders? Doesn't attention to the problems of others help us to be more aware of our own blessings? Aren't we obligated to help the neediest wherever they are?
Facts
Helping countries overseas ultimately helps the United States.
The United States benefits economically from aid to developing nations: with economic growth in developing countries, opportunities for U.S. trade and investment increase. In addition, a large portion of support is given in U.S. dollars or credits that must be spent for U.S. goods and services—machinery, supplies and personnel services. Nearly 70 percent of all foreign assistance funds pay for goods and services produced in the United States.
For American farmers in particular, there are benefits of U.S. aid to developing nations: besides enabling economic development which helps people earn income to buy food, new technologies and are learned from helping other countries, we gain access to new sources of production, especially for contra-seasonal fruits and vegetables, and to genetic material for U.S. breeding programs, we sell U.S. commodities and farm equipment, and we get to train U.S. scientists.
3. "Won't international development cause Americans to sacrifice our standard of living?"
Method
Explain what you perceived to be the standard of living people wanted and were working toward in the country(ies) in which you volunteered and how it differed from ours.
Facts
The U.S. devotes less than one-half of 1 percent to humanitarian aid. It amounts to about 15 cents per day for each American—hardly enough to alter our standard of living.
4. "How will free trade affect people in the developing countries and people in the United States?"
Method
Describe how people in the country(ies) you assisted were working toward a free market economy and how they saw their efforts.
Refer your audience to periodicals and other sources of information that deal with this question in-depth.
Facts
An answer to a related question ("Will free trade cause some farming activities to be unprofitable and cause some people to lose their jobs?") provides additional information on the big picture: difficult economic adjustments will have to be made by some people and certain kinds of public assistance may be needed to make the transition, but total economic activity (GNP) in the United States and other nations is expected to increase.
5. "U.S. foreign aid has been going on for 40 years. Has it done any good? Has our investment of tax dollars paid off?"
Method
Describe how the people you knew in the country(ies) you assisted viewed U.S. aid. Tell about their response to your collaboration in particular.
Ask your audience how long they think such dependent relationships might have to continue.
Be careful not to get "hooked" into defending—or demeaning—U.S. foreign assistance in any country.
Facts
Over the past 25 to 30 years, the big-picture statistics do, in fact, point to some very real improvements in people's quality of life worldwide. Life expectancy in developing nations has risen; infant mortality has dropped; the adult literacy rate has climbed and we can feed 1 billion more of the world's people.
These improvements stem from many kinds of activities, such as: individual people's initiatives, foreign governments' own programs for their people, the work of international organizations (WHO, World Bank, etc.) and foreign assistance from countries such as the United States.
6. "The world population seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. Isn't it true that there is simply no way for all these people to be fed?"
Method
Describe how food is made available to the population in the country(ies) you assisted. Refer questioners to the research, especially of a biotechnology nature, on agricultural production. (See ACDI/VOCA's position paper on biotech on our website.) Refer also to the Center for Global Development's publication Why Development Matters for the U.S..
7. "Aren't natural disasters a major cause of poverty? What can we really do when faced with the uncertainty and the devastation of such disasters?"
Method
Describe the way natural disasters were met in the country(ies) you worked in, if that applies.
Discuss the work of the Red Cross and other international organizations.
Explain how the ability to cope with natural disasters—like the San Francisco earthquake—is in proportion to a country's basic level of development. It's not that natural disasters cause countries to be poor; it's that poor countries are less able to cope with natural disasters, whereas developed countries are able to contain the damage and rebuild.
Facts
ACDI/VOCA has become expert in working in crisis conditions to bridge relief efforts into reconstruction and development.
8. "How can developing countries both increase food production and protect their environments? Doesn't development happen at the expense of their environments?"
Method
Describe what efforts for environmental protection, if any, you noticed in the country(ies) where you worked.
It is a real problem in many nations and suggests the need for additional research in biotech methods. Suggest periodicals and other sources of detailed information on this complex question of development and the environment.
9. "Aren't science and technology the key to eradicating poverty in the world? Can't our advanced technology do it all?"
Method
Describe how simple, small-scale agriculture was enhanced by the latest in technology in the country(ies) where you worked.
Discuss the importance of appropriate technology—that is, technology that respects the local environments, is not too expensive for the people to buy, is locally repairable when it breaks down, etc.
When it comes to cost, ask the audience to consider some of the points brought out in questions #1, #2 and #4.
Ask the audience to consider the "human face of underdevelopment," as you did when you went overseas to help.
10. "Wouldn't a fairer distribution of land, credit and other means of production actually undercut current levels of productivity?"
Method
Take this opportunity to show how a first-hand and/or historical perspective helped you to understand why the countries you assisted—both the people and the government-made the choices they did. But be careful not to get "hooked" into a lengthy discussion of property rights and productivity.
Facts
Zimbabwe provides a case where the wealthy landowners were kicked out and, yes, productivity plummeted. However, that was a rash redistribution effort and should not be considered a model. In the vast majority of countries in which we work, fairer methods involve more people and only boost productivity.
11. "Don't our agricultural subsidies undermine development efforts?"
Method
Take this opportunity to discuss your perspective on why the developed countries such as the U.S. protect their agriculture.
Facts
The U.S. and other developed countries pay their farmers more than $300 billion in subsidies annually—six times what they give in developmental aid. These payments encourage farmers to overproduce, and they enable developed nations to export certain crops at prices below production costs. Even with cheap labor, developing nations cannot compete with subsidized prices and, unable to sell their products, poor farmers and rural communities are condemned to a cycle of poverty. The U.S. is trying to address this inequity through the W.T.O., but the developed world is close to being addicted to subsidies.