debt of third world countries

Congressional Black Caucus
2444 Rayburn Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
congressionalblackcaucus@mail.house.gov


27 Jan 10

CBC members, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is James Quigley and I am currently collecting signatures in order to appear on the ballot and unseat Bobby Scott in the 3rd Congressional District of Virginia. That aside, I wish to applaud your actions in regards to pushing for debt forgiveness for Haiti. Thanks to your work, and the work of others, Haiti has been forgiven for $1.2 billion within recent years. However, according to the fine folks at jubileeusa.org, Haiti still owes more than one billion dollars to various banks and organizations. As you well know, nearly half of this debt is from the regimes of "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc", which were finally deposed more than twenty years ago.

The images shown from the recent tragedy that devastated Haiti were heartbreaking to many Americans, myself included. If there can be something positive that comes from this, hopefully it can be through the goodwill of Americans to send help through private charities. There was a statement from one CBC official that read: "At this stage, the information on the ground is still unknown, and until authorities can get a grasp on what is needed, 'in kind' donations have been discouraged." I would hope that you do not agree with this statement, and that you are finding ways to facilitate "in kind" donations, which constitute goods and services rather than money. If people wish to donate tools, canned food, and even donate their time to travel and provide aid they should be encouraged to do so. Such aid may even make a difference sooner than any kind of monetary donation routed through the government and international agencies before going through the Haitian government, and finally to the people in need.

Finally, I hope that we can take an opportunity during this crisis to address the debt of third world countries, whether just across our border such as in Haiti, or various other countries in Africa and Asia such as Liberia and Afghanistan. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) exist largely through our funding and representation, but these international financial institutions loan money out to government administrations that are unable to pay off the debts during their rule. This is profitable for the institutions that make up the World Bank and IMF, but is rarely beneficial for the citizens stuck with footing the bill. Some of the more corrupt governments then use loans from these international institutions to pocket money for bureaucrats or to finance a patronage system that corrupt officials use to stay in power. After these corrupt politicians leave, the citizens of their third world countries are left to foot the bill causing further poverty. For example, the large majority of the debt that has to be paid by current Haitian president, Rene Preval, came about before he had been elected. With his capital in ruin, his main port in greatly damaged, and his nearest airport in shambles, the chances for President Preval to revive his economy look grim. Now is the time to offer a helping hand to Mr. Preval and the people he represents and seek forgiveness for debt incurred by previous corrupt administrations. Currently, the World Bank and IMF still drag their feet in regards to debt forgiveness to Haiti. In fact, the IMF has given indications that some of the so-called “disaster relief aid” that will be provided will be given as debt that will further impoverish Haiti’s future while enriching that of these international banks.

I hope you agree that no corrupt government should be allowed to run up massive debts unless in time of war or other such crisis. We should not encourage a financial system that allows a corrupt government to steal from its future generations in order that the officials in charge can pocket the money or can give it to its political allies while leaving the bill to its citizenry. Once I am elected, I hope you can join me in reexamining the role of the IMF, the World Bank, and other international financial institutions and what this system of banking is doing to the people of impoverished countries. I am also sure that the American citizens who are footing the bill for the IMF and World Bank would also like to see foreign aid go to the people it is meant to help instead of unaccountable international organizations.

After my victory, I hope we can find similar issues we find commonality with and that I can add as fresh a perspective as I have above.


James Quigley
Chairman of the Peninsula Libertarian Party
Hopeful Future Candidate for upcoming VA-3 District Congressional Elections
JamesQuigley4Congress@gmail.com

James Quigley responds to recent NEFMC decision on scallop industry

Attached is my official response that was just sent out via mail to the Chairman of the NEFMC. I would like to thank Councilwoman McMillan, Mr. Ed Mullis, and Mr. Ross Paasche for educating me about the situation.

I would also like to thank two members of my campaign team CCed in this letter, Mr. Kelly Place, a local waterman and environmentalist, and Mr. Timothy Schettino of CESIPI for doing the research that was a great help in drafting this letter. The letter pages were scanned into .jpg format for those that cannot open the former.

Respectfully,

James QuigleyPLP Chair and soon-to-be VA 3rd Congressional District Candidate