The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

[Alex]

More seriously than my previous replies, it seems sensible to me that the amount would be relatively small.

1. Italy is not some third world country sent into complete collapse by this. This is further demonstrated by them saying they don't need our "boots on the ground" assistance.

2. Italy is already part of a larger economic support structure that, to the extent that Italy needs assistance should be the first and primary responder. That is, the European Union.

3. The announced money is from the Italy embassy's budget. This sounds like something that could be done with a very minimal amount of bureaucracy and could put the money into immediate circulation where it is needed. As per the reasons above, any true need for U.S. assistance is likely to be immediate while everybody is getting ramped up then the internal and EU support response should kick in.

4. I have no doubt if Italy says "we need more!!" that more will be forthcoming. Also, I have no doubt that private charitable giving will almost certainly be quite charitable (and which, certain political groups in the United States are often quite justifiably proud of and frequently say is the appropriate channel for assistance rather than federal dollars).