Can the Taliban get Western do-gooders to fund their entire government?

by philg

“UN Afghanistan donor conference raises $1 billion with crisis looming” (DW):

The UN says humanitarian aid money would go to maintain medical services, the water supply and sanitation for millions of Afghans. Additionally, funding would support women and children and set up educational projects.

Forty government ministers, including German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, as well as dozens of government representatives are attending both in person and virtually.

The German foreign minister said it was up to the international community to “take responsibility” for the people in Afghanistan.

In other words, so long as the Talibans don’t make the mistake of allocating money to health care, clean water, sewage, education, or “women and children,” Westerners will fund all of these functions of the modern welfare state. The Taliban can spend 100 percent of tax revenue on their military, police, and other tools for remaining in power.

The population of Afghanistan doubled from 20 to 40 million while the country was getting U.S. cash infusions. Over the next 20 years, therefore, so long as the steady flow of German money continues, it seems reasonable to expect that the population will double again, to 80 million (current total fertility rate is 4.72 children per woman; compare to 1.84 in the U.S. (our population still grows steadily, however, due to low-skill immigration)). Afghanistan would then have about the same population as Germany and, essentially, every German would have a corresponding Afghan dependent. Assuming the German-funded schools for Afghanistan result in mass literacy, will it be time to set up a penpal program? (After 20 years of U.S. rule, the adult literacy rate in Afghanistan is 43 percent (CIA).)

Even if the Germans send all of their money to the Taliban, they’ll still have a beautiful beach to enjoy…. fleece jacket weather in August 2016, Warnemünde:

6 thoughts on “Can the Taliban get Western do-gooders to fund their entire government?”

  1. The Taliban will get to keep the U.S. weapons, China will get the mineral rights and Germany will pay for infrastructure and education. Sounds about right.

    Politicians in Germany have no shame. Merkel has run down the CDU (formerly the conservative party) from 40% to 20%, Schroeder successors have done the same to the SPD (formerly the worker’s and middle class party).

    CDU+SPD form a block party that is similar to the Democrats. Big industry (which is mostly old money in Germany) matters, cheap labor is imported from the Eastern EU countries, Syria, Africa. The middle class is stagnating, there is no housing (except for refugees), pensions are uncertain.

    We will have the beach, but will we have fleece jackets?

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