Was it Bill Clinton's idea..

[Tom B]

...to match up one rich country to one poor country so that the task of helping the 'third world' became more specific and achievable- Luxembourg gets Burundi, Norway gets Congo etc? I always thought that sounded like a practical approach - East & West Germany are levelling since unifcation, why shouldn't we try the same on a global level ? - instead of the G8 "leaders" making big impractical promises at a non specific global level to invest to make poverty history and then not following through?


1 Luxembourg 113,044
2 Norway 95,062
3 Qatar 93,204
4 Switzerland 67,385
5 Denmark 62,626
6 Ireland 61,810
7 Iceland 55,462
8 United Arab Emirates 54,607
9 Sweden 52,790
10 Netherlands 52,019
11 Finland 51,989
12 Austria 50,098
13 Australia 47,400
14 Belgium 47,108
15 United States 46,859
16 France 46,016
17 Kuwait 45,920
18 Canada 45,428
19 Germany 44,660
20 United Kingdom 43,785
21 Italy 38,996
22 Singapore 38,972
23 Japan 38,559
24 Brunei 37,053
25 Spain 35,331
26 Cyprus 32,772
27 Greece 32,005
— Hong Kong 30,755
28 New Zealand 30,049
29 Israel 28,365
30 Bahrain 27,248
31 Slovenia 27,149
32 Portugal 22,997
33 Bahamas, The 22,156
34 Czech Republic 21,027
35 Malta 20,202
36 Korea, South 19,505
37 Saudi Arabia 19,345
38 Trinidad and Tobago 19,012
39 Oman 18,988
40 Slovakia 17,630
41 Estonia 17,299
42 China, Republic of (Taiwan) 17,040
43 Libya 16,115
44 Croatia 15,628
45 Hungary 15,542
46 Latvia 14,997
47 Equatorial Guinea[4] 14,941
48 Antigua and Barbuda 14,929
49 Lithuania 14,086
50 Poland 13,799
51 Barbados 13,356
52 Russia 11,807
53 Venezuela 11,388
54 Saint Kitts and Nevis 10,483
55 Turkey 10,472
56 Mexico 10,235
57 Chile 10,124
58 Seychelles 10,112
59 Uruguay 10,082
60 Gabon 9,987
61 Romania 9,292
62 Kazakhstan 8,502
63 Argentina 8,214
64 Brazil 8,197
65 Malaysia 8,141
66 Lebanon 7,617
67 Botswana 7,554
68 Mauritius 6,872
69 Bulgaria 6,857
70 Panama 6,784
71 Serbia 6,782
72 Costa Rica 6,580
73 Belarus 6,234
74 Saint Lucia 6,033
75 Grenada 6,006
76 South Africa 5,693
77 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5,615
78 Suriname 5,599
79 Azerbaijan 5,349
80 Jamaica 5,335
81 Dominican Republic 5,122
82 Dominica 5,082
83 Colombia 4,985
84 Angola 4,961
85 Iran 4,732
86 Macedonia, Republic of 4,657
87 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4,625
88 Algeria 4,588
89 Peru 4,453
90 Belize 4,310
91 Namibia 4,135
92 Thailand 4,115
93 Fiji 4,095
94 Albania 4,074
95 Ukraine 3,920
96 Tunisia 3,907
97 Turkmenistan 3,863
98 El Salvador 3,824
99 Ecuador 3,776
100 Maldives 3,649
101 Cape Verde 3,422
102 Jordan 3,421
103 Armenia 3,361
104 China, People's Republic of 3,315
105 Iraq 2,989
106 Congo, Republic of the 2,952
107 Georgia 2,925
108 Guatemala 2,848
109 Samoa 2,798
110 Swaziland 2,781
111 Syria 2,757
112 Morocco 2,748
113 Paraguay 2,601
114 Tonga 2,510
115 Vanuatu 2,442
116 Indonesia 2,246
117 Egypt 2,161
118 Bhutan 2,082
119 Mongolia 1,981
120 Sri Lanka 1,972
121 Philippines 1,866
122 Honduras 1,842
123 Moldova 1,809
124 Bolivia 1,737
125 Sudan 1,519
126 Guyana 1,480
127 Nigeria 1,451
128 Kiribati 1,372
129 Papua New Guinea 1,306
130 Djibouti 1,252
131 Cameroon 1,199
132 Yemen 1,182
133 Zambia 1,150
134 Côte d'Ivoire 1,132
135 São Tomé and Príncipe 1,101
136 Senegal 1,066
137 Pakistan 1,044
138 Mauritania 1,042
139 Vietnam 1,040
140 Uzbekistan 1,027
141 Nicaragua 1,025
142 India 1,016
143 Kyrgyzstan 951
144 Solomon Islands 905
145 Chad 862
146 Kenya 857
147 Benin 856
148 Laos 841
149 Cambodia 818
150 Comoros 816
151 Tajikistan 795
152 Haiti 791
153 Ghana 716
154 Lesotho 661
155 Mali 657
156 Burkina Faso 577
157 Tanzania 521
158 Bangladesh 506
159 Gambia, The 496
160 Timor-Leste 469
161 Mozambique 465
162 Rwanda 465
163 Burma 462
164 Nepal 459
165 Central African Republic 459
166 Madagascar 458
167 Uganda 453
168 Guinea 442
169 Togo 436
170 Afghanistan 429
171 Niger 391
172 Sierra Leone 332
173 Ethiopia 324
174 Malawi 313
175 Eritrea 295
176 Guinea-Bissau 264
177 Liberia 212
178 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 184
179 Burundi 138

[bill]

NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE ON ABOUT

What is the significance of the number after the name of the country ?

[Sheik Yir Erse]

Tom B - in principal it's a good idea, but I've matched us up and I don't think it's fair for The Gambia to bail us out of our current perilous predicament. We've created the situation, it's only fair we try and get ourselves out of it. Just think how much money we'd have it we weren't having to pay back the massive 1st World government debt we've run up. Equally, if we could just stop wasting money fighting these pointless wars we always seem to be getting involved in, that should surely help our finances. Finally, as for the corruption that is rife within our Government, there's no guarantee the aid money that The Gambia give us would reach the people who need it most, it'll probably end up in the back pockets of some corrupt politicians.

Yes, it's just not fair that the Third World should always have to bail us out!

Makes you think tho, that for all our "advances" we're not that different!

[Tom B]

What is the significance of the number after the name of the country ?

Its the GDP per head of population lifted from google, but any measure of who has capacity to help others would do

Tom B - in principal it's a good idea, but I've matched us up and I don't think it's fair for The Gambia to bail us out of our current perilous predicament. We've created the situation, it's only fair we try and get ourselves out of it. Just think how much money we'd have it we weren't having to pay back the massive 1st World government debt we've run up. Equally, if we could just stop wasting money fighting these pointless wars we always seem to be getting involved in, that should surely help our finances. Finally, as for the corruption that is rife within our Government, there's no guarantee the aid money that The Gambia give us would reach the people who need it most, it'll probably end up in the back pockets of some corrupt politicians.

Yes, it's just not fair that the Third World should always have to bail us out!

Makes you think tho, that for all our "advances" we're not that different!

like it - good reply!

[Hume]

naw Tom it can't have been Clinton's idea as I'm sure it was first tried in 1707!

Interesting to see all those small and insignificant self governing european countries occupying the top slots in the GDP per head league though eh?

[EMDEE]

Interesting to see all those small and insignificant self governing european countries occupying the top slots in the GDP per head league though eh?

It is indeed.

[Hadrians hiring!]

Basically tom you are talking 'empire'.
Dont touch bargepole etc etc.

[Tom B]

Basically tom you are talking 'empire'.
Dont touch bargepole etc etc.

not intentionally, just thinking there must be a better way to help the world's starving, diseased people, dying with no clean drinking water than the one we've got at the moment. The idea of breaking the problem down in to small manageable chunks and divi'ing it up amongst those willing and able to help - sounded like one that might have a better chance of succeeding.

[EMDEE]

In order to make a real impact on the problems of the so-called "third world", and divide up the world's resources in a more equitable way there would need to be a dramatic change in the currently decadent lifestyle of the "developed world". Would everyone in the developed world be willing to accept this?

[four eyes]

no,no and no again,charity begins at home.

[Tom B]

no,no and no again,charity begins at home.

If 'home' is Scotland, then doesn't everyone in Scotland already have access to clean water, food, education and basic healthcare? So we've done the home bit already.

If 'home' is a bit wider, then it's widely reported that there is not enough resources for all the people on the planet living the way we do. Within a decade or two (if not already) folk from all over the world will be fighting to come to the UK - it will get very messy and scarey. Isn't there a logic in helping the other 6 bn people on the planet live better in their part of the world - even if only to stop the need for them to come and change our bit (too much)?

EMDEE - I agree, few in the developed world will voluntarily give up our lifestyle, but maybe an understanding of how the rest of the world lives, through a plan something like Clinton's might help us see first-hand the need to do so? If communities here built relationships with communties in the 3rd world - perhaps by individuals working for a time in twinned communities (exchanges both ways) - there could be many benefits.

I agree that the idea will not appeal to everyone but somehow over the next 100 years we WILL have to consume less and learn to share what's available, or build very big walls and massive armies.