I have to concur with abu, US aid is a misnomer and little or none of it goes to worthy causes.
However this FACT does not stop the right wing in the UDS bleating about how generous the US is as a nation.
Quote:Aid is central to Washington's relationship with Cairo. The US has provided Egypt with $1.3 billion a year in military aid since 1979, and an average of $815 million a year in economic assistance. All told, Egypt has received over $50 billion in US largesse since 1975.
"Aid offers an easy way out for Egypt to avoid reform," says Edward Walker, the US ambassador to Egypt from 1994 to 1998. "They use the money to support antiquated programs and to resist reforms."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0412/p07s01-wome.html
Quote:Since the 1970s, Israel has been one of the top recipients of U.S. foreign aid. While it is mostly military aid, in the past a portion was dedicated to economic assistance. In 2004, the second-largest recipient of economic foreign aid from the United States was Israel, second to Iraq. In terms of per capita value Israel ranks first.
In 2007, the United States increased its military aid to Israel by over 25% to an average of $3 billion per year for the following ten year period, while ending economic aid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel-United_States_relations