Money for tsunami victims

The news about who is giving how much money to help the tsunami victims is driving me crazy! First there was the U.N. guy (from Europe, of course), who said the rich western nations were "stingy". Then France raised the amount they pledged to give, and bragged that they gave the most. This is perfect material for Ann Coulter's article next week: it involves the U.N. and it involves France.

Of course we all know how "generous" the U.N. is. My guess is that after all the money has been spent rebuilding the areas that have been destroyed and helping those who need help, the U.S. will be the biggest giver by far, even if you figure the numbers as a percentage of GNP. If you take into consideration the money from the government as well as corporate donations (money and gifts-in-kind), and help from U.S.-based humanitarian organizations (e.g. the Red Cross and World Vision), it will be no contest.

The only thing being accomplished by nations bragging about how much their government is giving is this: we're finding out which nations are most communist. Redistribute the wealth, and take credit for being the most compassionate nation, while normal people are taxed to their limits and are not able to give to private humanitarian groups as much as they would like.