That should have been a main theme in coverage of the Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina last night. At one point, Senator Clinton complained about Senator Obama's big-spending plans and singled out his plans for foreign aid. Currently, the United States spends approximately $3 billion a year on foreign aid This is approximately equal to $10 per person per year or 0.1 percent of total government spending. The fact Senator Clinton is singling out Senator Obama's spending proposals for foreign aid as being unaffordable suggests that she is either unfamiliar with the budget, or had some other motive in exaggerating the potential cost of Obama's foreign aid proposals. In either case, this should have been a central theme in reporting on the debate.
--Dean Baker
