Updated January 19, 2010

Don't Subsidize Haitian Corruption

By Christian Whiton

- FOXNews.com

There is no compelling reason for the United States to involve itself in Haiti’s reconstruction.

The devastation in Haiti has brought into stark relief the best and worst of America’s approach to tragedy abroad. On one hand, there is a commendable outpouring of charity from the American people and yet another display of the effectiveness and competence of the U.S. military. On the other, the Obama administration and other spendthrifts are asserting a non-existent responsibility for American taxpayers to help rebuild Haiti. Their call to ride to the rescue reflects a foreign policy that wastes taxpayer dollars while actually fueling corruption and misery. Furthermore, there is no compelling reason for the United States to involve itself in Haiti’s reconstruction. It is an impossible task for another country and there are no U.S. interests at stake that warrant involvement beyond short-term rescue activities.

Haiti’s misery is not the fault of U.S. actions or inactions, although this appears to have eluded some commentators. In a Washington Post op-ed piece on Sunday, Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and author of "Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet," announced “the United States will have to do things differently,â€