CHEAPSKATE AMERICANS

That, at least, is the view of some...

...America's perception of itself as the most generous country in the world is contradicted by the reality, economists and specialists on international aid say. Jeffrey Sachs, an economist at Columbia University and a specialist on aid to developing countries who has worked with the United Nations, said, ''There is a very big difference between American attitudes, which are generous; beliefs, which is that we do a lot; and the reality. . . . The reality is we actually do very little by comparative measures.

''I think the disaster in Asia is a stark example of this for a lot of Americans. It challenges their perceptions of their own country," Sachs said. ''There is going to be even more shock when the US government asks for an additional $80 billion in Iraq and the American public juxtaposes that with what was given in one of the worst natural disasters the world has ever seen.

Follow the link and read the rest. The assumption that we are a bunch of cheapskates when it comes to foreign aid is based upon the percentage of GNP, rather than actual dollars. While the US leads the pack in total actual dollars (over $15 Billion), it is lagging behind in percentage of GNP (0.17 percent).