Picture New Leadership on Global Poverty and Debt!

My previous blog entry was concerning a campaign at Jubilee USA entitled “Stop the Vulture Culture!” We are excited to report that Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) will introduce a bill into the House of Representatives outlining regulations and penalties for companies who engage in the profiteering of defaulted sovereign debt. It’s time to start calling your Members of Congress to ask them to co-sponsor this Vulture Funds legislation!

Another campaign at Jubilee is “Picture New Leadership on Global Poverty and Debt.” We’re calling on the next president of the United States to take an affirmative stance on debt cancellation and to provide more and better aid to highly indebted countries. We are also asking the next President to appoint a Secretary of the Treasury who will share these goals.

So, let’s start at the beginning. Why is debt relief important? In the case of Haiti, the average family used to spend about 80% of their budget on food. The price of food has now doubled in a very short period of time, which as you can guess or have probably seen on the world news, has led to a hunger crisis in Haiti.

What does this have to do with debt? Haiti accrued 45% of its $1.46 billion debt under its two notoriously brutal dictators, “Papa-Doc” and “Baby-Doc” Duvalier. The Duvalier’s squandered the money loaned to them by creditor institutions and used very little of it to help the citizens of Haiti. It is reported that “Baby-Doc’s” wife Michele Duvalier spent $20,000 on a weekend shopping spree in New York City.

The point is that the citizens of Haiti, now people living in the world’s first black republic, are victims of an irresponsible regime and should not be made to pay the odious and illegitimate debts accrued by the Duvaliers.

Haiti currently pays $58 million in debt repayment and interest annually, which is diverting money, energy, and attention away from the hunger crisis in Haiti. That’s over 1 million dollars per week that could be put towards relief efforts.

Does debt relief work? Yes! Social spending in countries that receive debt relief has gone up by 75%. The funds are being used to abolish school fees, provide free immunizations, fight HIV/AIDS, and improve access to safe drinking water!

The benefits don’t stop at social improvements. Extreme environmental degradation has left Haiti more susceptible to natural disasters such as mudslides and Hurricanes. Debt relief could expand Haiti’s environmental budget ten fold and help them come up with a sustainable strategy for protecting their citizens from natural disasters.

By this point I’m sure you’re wondering what you can do to help. Jubilee’s Picture new leadership campaign is asking for groups of people to get together and take a picture that can be sent to both Senator’s McCain and Obama’s campaign offices. The picture should be of you and your friends, office, or any other group holding a sign that says; “Picture an end to Global Poverty! More and Better Aid!” Debt relief is a root solution for many other social problems all over the planet and we need you to get involved!

E-mail your picture to Mercedes@jubileeusa.org and we’ll put it up on our website and fax it in to your local campaign offices, make sure to tell us where you’re from in your e-mail. For more information about our “Picture New Leadership” campaign visit www.jubileeusa.org/leadership.html.