Usaid terror

Anonymous
We can talk about USAID and the babies they are saving from dying from AIDS or we can talk about USAID and PP’s dad who didn’t work much.

But the point is that whether to have USAID and how much to spend on it is a decision for the United States Congress not Elon Musk.

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Let’s be honest—I grew up in a State Department or USAID family (I won’t reveal which for anonymity). My father was in a technical supervisor role, and we lived all over the world. From my firsthand experience, I can say that the lifestyle was far beyond anything we could have had in the U.S., even if we were wealthy.

We basically had our mortgage covered back home by renting out our house while we lived overseas, where our housing was fully paid for. And we weren’t just living in normal homes—these were massive houses with staff: maids, gardeners, and drivers. It was a completely different world. We also traveled frequently, and vacations were either heavily subsidized or fully covered through various allowances. We attended elite American schools that, back home, were only accessible to the ultra-rich, but for us, they were fully funded by U.S. taxpayers.

It was a great lifestyle, no doubt. But it often felt like a fantasy, like a long-term vacation rather than real life. My dad, who was at the equivalent of a GS-15 level, later admitted to me that he only did about 30 minutes of actual work a week. The real purpose of many Americans stationed in these countries seemed more about maintaining a U.S. presence rather than truly making an impact. Embassy life was filled with social events, networking, and parties—it felt like an exclusive club, completely detached from the struggles of the local populations USAID was supposedly there to help.

From my perspective, USAID and similar government programs do fund important projects, but there’s also an enormous amount of waste. The sheer amount of money spent on maintaining the American presence abroad—on housing, benefits, and lifestyles—makes you question whether these funds could be better used elsewhere.

I’m not saying that every single person in USAID is doing nothing, but from what I saw growing up, it was a system that provided an incredibly cushy deal for those involved. It raises the question: how much of this is actually about development, and how much is just about sustaining a privileged American presence overseas?


such candor is rare. thank you


+1


The wildest part to me is her dad talking literally about hours of work. Truly outlier.

Did your dad talk to you about his work hours?


I call BS on that. She has no idea what her Dad did or how much he worked or how important his work was.


Yeah the story is BS. No diplomat is going to say they only work half an hour a week when everything they do, particularly socially, is "work."
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:We can talk about USAID and the babies they are saving from dying from AIDS or we can talk about USAID and PP’s dad who didn’t work much.

But the point is that whether to have USAID and how much to spend on it is a decision for the United States Congress not Elon Musk.




+100
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I am surprised Republicans are going this far. They must plan on never losing power.


duh. Trump told you that you'd never have to vote again.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-tells-christians-they-wont-have-vote-after-this-election-2024-07-27/
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Let’s be honest—I grew up in a State Department or USAID family (I won’t reveal which for anonymity). My father was in a technical supervisor role, and we lived all over the world. From my firsthand experience, I can say that the lifestyle was far beyond anything we could have had in the U.S., even if we were wealthy.

We basically had our mortgage covered back home by renting out our house while we lived overseas, where our housing was fully paid for. And we weren’t just living in normal homes—these were massive houses with staff: maids, gardeners, and drivers. It was a completely different world. We also traveled frequently, and vacations were either heavily subsidized or fully covered through various allowances. We attended elite American schools that, back home, were only accessible to the ultra-rich, but for us, they were fully funded by U.S. taxpayers.

It was a great lifestyle, no doubt. But it often felt like a fantasy, like a long-term vacation rather than real life. My dad, who was at the equivalent of a GS-15 level, later admitted to me that he only did about 30 minutes of actual work a week. The real purpose of many Americans stationed in these countries seemed more about maintaining a U.S. presence rather than truly making an impact. Embassy life was filled with social events, networking, and parties—it felt like an exclusive club, completely detached from the struggles of the local populations USAID was supposedly there to help.

From my perspective, USAID and similar government programs do fund important projects, but there’s also an enormous amount of waste. The sheer amount of money spent on maintaining the American presence abroad—on housing, benefits, and lifestyles—makes you question whether these funds could be better used elsewhere.

I’m not saying that every single person in USAID is doing nothing, but from what I saw growing up, it was a system that provided an incredibly cushy deal for those involved. It raises the question: how much of this is actually about development, and how much is just about sustaining a privileged American presence overseas?



I'm not saying your dad was CIA, but if he was, it would look like this.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is so illegal and unconstitutional

I'm sorry USAID-- I'm sure you are just the first in a wave of illegal actions but it hurts my heart to see you and your work treated this way.


Same here. I am so, so sorry that this is happening to you.


NP. Also sorry to see this happen . I worked for a USAID contractor decades ago. Everyone I worked with was dedicated and passionate about their work. No one should be treated this way. Elon Musk is so callous that he can’t begin to fathom what humanitarian work is or means.


USAID lost its way and the baby is being thrown out with the bathwater. Their careless spending, arrogance and bloated bureaucracy got them in this position and now they'll suffer the consequences.


Agree. A lot of good things happened under USAID. But a lot of wasteful spending also happened under USAID. The independent presses are having a field day reporting on the obscure spending like funding for a transgender opera and parties for LGBTQ kids in Serbia. and USAID funding more often than not ended up in pockets of local corrupt politicians who owned the companies that won the USAID contracts to build water pipes or whatever. And often did a terrible job. And, of course, USAID was working hand in hand with CIA for certain operations, funneling money for certain schemes that may have been dubious. As a long time expat in developing/adjacent developing countries I heard plenty of wild stories about USAID and clandestine operations - from seasoned NGO veterans. I don't doubt most people at USAID were committed to their missions but I can see that in recent years some of those missions were getting ridiculous. Funding identity politics in countries, including Ireland, makes no sense.


As a recently retired case officer with many overseas tours, I am going to give you and your "seasoned NGO veterans" a giant eyeroll on that one.


+100
This is really offensive, not to mention dangerous, lies to spread
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Let’s be honest—I grew up in a State Department or USAID family (I won’t reveal which for anonymity). My father was in a technical supervisor role, and we lived all over the world. From my firsthand experience, I can say that the lifestyle was far beyond anything we could have had in the U.S., even if we were wealthy.

We basically had our mortgage covered back home by renting out our house while we lived overseas, where our housing was fully paid for. And we weren’t just living in normal homes—these were massive houses with staff: maids, gardeners, and drivers. It was a completely different world. We also traveled frequently, and vacations were either heavily subsidized or fully covered through various allowances. We attended elite American schools that, back home, were only accessible to the ultra-rich, but for us, they were fully funded by U.S. taxpayers.

It was a great lifestyle, no doubt. But it often felt like a fantasy, like a long-term vacation rather than real life. My dad, who was at the equivalent of a GS-15 level, later admitted to me that he only did about 30 minutes of actual work a week. The real purpose of many Americans stationed in these countries seemed more about maintaining a U.S. presence rather than truly making an impact. Embassy life was filled with social events, networking, and parties—it felt like an exclusive club, completely detached from the struggles of the local populations USAID was supposedly there to help.

From my perspective, USAID and similar government programs do fund important projects, but there’s also an enormous amount of waste. The sheer amount of money spent on maintaining the American presence abroad—on housing, benefits, and lifestyles—makes you question whether these funds could be better used elsewhere.

I’m not saying that every single person in USAID is doing nothing, but from what I saw growing up, it was a system that provided an incredibly cushy deal for those involved. It raises the question: how much of this is actually about development, and how much is just about sustaining a privileged American presence overseas?



I'm not saying your dad was CIA, but if he was, it would look like this.


+1.....yeah.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Let’s be honest—I grew up in a State Department or USAID family (I won’t reveal which for anonymity). My father was in a technical supervisor role, and we lived all over the world. From my firsthand experience, I can say that the lifestyle was far beyond anything we could have had in the U.S., even if we were wealthy.

We basically had our mortgage covered back home by renting out our house while we lived overseas, where our housing was fully paid for. And we weren’t just living in normal homes—these were massive houses with staff: maids, gardeners, and drivers. It was a completely different world. We also traveled frequently, and vacations were either heavily subsidized or fully covered through various allowances. We attended elite American schools that, back home, were only accessible to the ultra-rich, but for us, they were fully funded by U.S. taxpayers.

It was a great lifestyle, no doubt. But it often felt like a fantasy, like a long-term vacation rather than real life. My dad, who was at the equivalent of a GS-15 level, later admitted to me that he only did about 30 minutes of actual work a week. The real purpose of many Americans stationed in these countries seemed more about maintaining a U.S. presence rather than truly making an impact. Embassy life was filled with social events, networking, and parties—it felt like an exclusive club, completely detached from the struggles of the local populations USAID was supposedly there to help.

From my perspective, USAID and similar government programs do fund important projects, but there’s also an enormous amount of waste. The sheer amount of money spent on maintaining the American presence abroad—on housing, benefits, and lifestyles—makes you question whether these funds could be better used elsewhere.

I’m not saying that every single person in USAID is doing nothing, but from what I saw growing up, it was a system that provided an incredibly cushy deal for those involved. It raises the question: how much of this is actually about development, and how much is just about sustaining a privileged American presence overseas?


such candor is rare. thank you


+1


The wildest part to me is her dad talking literally about hours of work. Truly outlier.

Did your dad talk to you about his work hours?


I call BS on that. She has no idea what her Dad did or how much he worked or how important his work was.


Yeah the story is BS. No diplomat is going to say they only work half an hour a week when everything they do, particularly socially, is "work."


I am abroad at an embassy right now. The foreign service has not been like this for decades. It used to be an old boys’ club where the wives were given evaluations on their entertaining skills etc. Now everyone is overworked and short staffed. We get one paid trip home per year (in coach) if we are in a developing country, and no paid trip home if we are in a developed country. My spouse works very long hours, weekends, etc, and is never able to use all of the annual leave that is allotted to him. Yes, the housing is free, but it tends to be more old and run down than the housing that diplomats from other countries have.
Anonymous
you get plenty:
Family Hire preference policy for EFM
Free elite & vetted by Ed bureau schooling for your K-12 aged children with no limits on #of children attending, even enormous families of 6,7,8,9 kids
If there’s no school at post approved by Ed bureau, you can send your kids to boarding school in CH or anywhere w/approval, all on taxpayer dime
Adult kids in college get a free trip annually to visit you
You can get approval to have parents live with you
Diplomatic sales for cars shipped home w/significant savings
Tax rebate upon departure as long as you have receipts
COL adjustment from Bureau of Allowances
“hardship” differential pay
LQ pay
Access to embassy docs and mental health + all the referrals and contacts they have for care

I’m forgetting so much more but basically, your post goes in the “Oh, Please” hall of fame.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Let’s be honest—I grew up in a State Department or USAID family (I won’t reveal which for anonymity). My father was in a technical supervisor role, and we lived all over the world. From my firsthand experience, I can say that the lifestyle was far beyond anything we could have had in the U.S., even if we were wealthy.

We basically had our mortgage covered back home by renting out our house while we lived overseas, where our housing was fully paid for. And we weren’t just living in normal homes—these were massive houses with staff: maids, gardeners, and drivers. It was a completely different world. We also traveled frequently, and vacations were either heavily subsidized or fully covered through various allowances. We attended elite American schools that, back home, were only accessible to the ultra-rich, but for us, they were fully funded by U.S. taxpayers.

It was a great lifestyle, no doubt. But it often felt like a fantasy, like a long-term vacation rather than real life. My dad, who was at the equivalent of a GS-15 level, later admitted to me that he only did about 30 minutes of actual work a week. The real purpose of many Americans stationed in these countries seemed more about maintaining a U.S. presence rather than truly making an impact. Embassy life was filled with social events, networking, and parties—it felt like an exclusive club, completely detached from the struggles of the local populations USAID was supposedly there to help.

From my perspective, USAID and similar government programs do fund important projects, but there’s also an enormous amount of waste. The sheer amount of money spent on maintaining the American presence abroad—on housing, benefits, and lifestyles—makes you question whether these funds could be better used elsewhere.

I’m not saying that every single person in USAID is doing nothing, but from what I saw growing up, it was a system that provided an incredibly cushy deal for those involved. It raises the question: how much of this is actually about development, and how much is just about sustaining a privileged American presence overseas?


such candor is rare. thank you


+1


The wildest part to me is her dad talking literally about hours of work. Truly outlier.

Did your dad talk to you about his work hours?


I call BS on that. She has no idea what her Dad did or how much he worked or how important his work was.


Yeah the story is BS. No diplomat is going to say they only work half an hour a week when everything they do, particularly socially, is "work."


Well, to my Dad, the work was the technical task he did once a week, which was like 30 minutes. The rest was waiting for cables, socializing, etc. If you want to call the later work, he worked 10 hours a day. He also ended up drinking a lot because of all the socializing and idle time as he didn't need to do much technical work that required focus.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Let’s be honest—I grew up in a State Department or USAID family (I won’t reveal which for anonymity). My father was in a technical supervisor role, and we lived all over the world. From my firsthand experience, I can say that the lifestyle was far beyond anything we could have had in the U.S., even if we were wealthy.

We basically had our mortgage covered back home by renting out our house while we lived overseas, where our housing was fully paid for. And we weren’t just living in normal homes—these were massive houses with staff: maids, gardeners, and drivers. It was a completely different world. We also traveled frequently, and vacations were either heavily subsidized or fully covered through various allowances. We attended elite American schools that, back home, were only accessible to the ultra-rich, but for us, they were fully funded by U.S. taxpayers.

It was a great lifestyle, no doubt. But it often felt like a fantasy, like a long-term vacation rather than real life. My dad, who was at the equivalent of a GS-15 level, later admitted to me that he only did about 30 minutes of actual work a week. The real purpose of many Americans stationed in these countries seemed more about maintaining a U.S. presence rather than truly making an impact. Embassy life was filled with social events, networking, and parties—it felt like an exclusive club, completely detached from the struggles of the local populations USAID was supposedly there to help.

From my perspective, USAID and similar government programs do fund important projects, but there’s also an enormous amount of waste. The sheer amount of money spent on maintaining the American presence abroad—on housing, benefits, and lifestyles—makes you question whether these funds could be better used elsewhere.

I’m not saying that every single person in USAID is doing nothing, but from what I saw growing up, it was a system that provided an incredibly cushy deal for those involved. It raises the question: how much of this is actually about development, and how much is just about sustaining a privileged American presence overseas?



LOL This sounds like State, not USAID. The people I know who work for AID are managers of local NGOs, administer grants and meet with local partners on building civil society and women's health initiatives and the like. What you had sounds like what my parents had in India working for the Ford Foundation. Yes, let's defund our cushiest Ambassadorships but building democracy around the world is worthy work, IMO but only the people at the very top have what you describe..


This is definitely State. And even State isn’t quite like this nowadays.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is horrible - there are many USAID direct hires and their families overseas. How are they getting home? Who is looking out for them?


They're being evacuated this week and if not home by Saturday, Trump is sending the military in.


You’re kidding me - that is so traumatic for everyone, but will the kids really be pulled out of school and their home like that?


Yes. They have 30 days to return to the US. It horrible for the American public servants and unfathomable to the poorest of the poor that USAID has served.


Not true. The email gave examples of exceptions and one of them was kids finishing their school year.


And what exactly are the parents going to do while on admin leave in a foreign country where Trump has painted a target on their back and Elon Musk has called them criminals where all the local contractors providing security services and support have been fired with the cut on foreign aid?
Anonymous
which country?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Let’s be honest—I grew up in a State Department or USAID family (I won’t reveal which for anonymity). My father was in a technical supervisor role, and we lived all over the world. From my firsthand experience, I can say that the lifestyle was far beyond anything we could have had in the U.S., even if we were wealthy.

We basically had our mortgage covered back home by renting out our house while we lived overseas, where our housing was fully paid for. And we weren’t just living in normal homes—these were massive houses with staff: maids, gardeners, and drivers. It was a completely different world. We also traveled frequently, and vacations were either heavily subsidized or fully covered through various allowances. We attended elite American schools that, back home, were only accessible to the ultra-rich, but for us, they were fully funded by U.S. taxpayers.

It was a great lifestyle, no doubt. But it often felt like a fantasy, like a long-term vacation rather than real life. My dad, who was at the equivalent of a GS-15 level, later admitted to me that he only did about 30 minutes of actual work a week. The real purpose of many Americans stationed in these countries seemed more about maintaining a U.S. presence rather than truly making an impact. Embassy life was filled with social events, networking, and parties—it felt like an exclusive club, completely detached from the struggles of the local populations USAID was supposedly there to help.

From my perspective, USAID and similar government programs do fund important projects, but there’s also an enormous amount of waste. The sheer amount of money spent on maintaining the American presence abroad—on housing, benefits, and lifestyles—makes you question whether these funds could be better used elsewhere.

I’m not saying that every single person in USAID is doing nothing, but from what I saw growing up, it was a system that provided an incredibly cushy deal for those involved. It raises the question: how much of this is actually about development, and how much is just about sustaining a privileged American presence overseas?


such candor is rare. thank you


+1


The wildest part to me is her dad talking literally about hours of work. Truly outlier.

Did your dad talk to you about his work hours?


I call BS on that. She has no idea what her Dad did or how much he worked or how important his work was.


Yeah the story is BS. No diplomat is going to say they only work half an hour a week when everything they do, particularly socially, is "work."


Well, to my Dad, the work was the technical task he did once a week, which was like 30 minutes. The rest was waiting for cables, socializing, etc. If you want to call the later work, he worked 10 hours a day. He also ended up drinking a lot because of all the socializing and idle time as he didn't need to do much technical work that required focus.


Why don't you tell us the name of your dad since you think that he's so typical of USAID today? If not, shut up because the USAID people I know work long days because they're passionate about children not dying from preventable diseases like malaria.
Anonymous
I'm sorry you had a lazy Dad, but the USAID employees I know work incredibly hard, did so much good for the poorest in the world, and truly believed in their mission. We should all be so lucky to be as fulfilled by our work.
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