Repercussions of U.S.A.I.D. Shut Down

This letter to the editor, by Tammy Tollefson, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on February 13, 2025 originally with the heading, Stupid Is As Stupid Does.

It’s been said that when you’re stupid you don’t know how stupid you are. The New York Times headline reads: Trump Administration to Lay Off Nearly All of U.S. Aid Agency’s Staff. That’s more than 10,000 people! How stupid can you get?

Children will starve. People will suffer and die from delays and lack of medications; U.S. farmers’ commodities will be cut off. Contracts canceled. The list goes on.

U.S.A.I.D. is our first line of defense—staff on the ground—in over 100 countries that could now easily turn to China or Russia for support. What a gift to our adversaries.

The agency provides early warnings about communicable diseases, financial malfeasance, potential unrest, and so much more. We don’t have Ebola here thanks to their ability to step in with control mechanisms (also goodbye CDC and WHO) to prevent its current spread. What will be done when there is no one to alert us to and prepare us against the next disease outbreak?

Their operations are mandated to source goods from U.S. vendors; and provide technical advice and training, all the while turning taxpayer resources into more. What will become of America’s farmers whose goods are not being acquired for these purposes?

The only way U.S.A.I.D. can be eliminated is by an act of Congress. Yet, the infrastructure is being hollowed out beyond the breaking point by an administration and an unelected power hoarder with little to no regard for the fallout.

Consider the price of this exponential loss of talent and institutional knowledge. This will leave an indelible mark on our economy, our global standing, and the lives of millions ofindividuals across the planet. What’s worse is that it will make us less safe in an increasingly volatile world. How stupid can you get?