My understanding of USAID was my original red pill, and came as a result of reading Confessions of an Economic Hitman while working as a legal intern at a M&A law firm in Vietnam.
This is a solo episode of The Carousel discussing USAID, patronage networks, and the new Government NGO Tracker, which is being widely misinterpreted and mis-used to falsely accuse people like Richard Hanania and Christopher Rufo of being USAID recipients (certainly not defending Hanania, and I think he probably is compromised in some way, but still I’m going to be loyal to the truth).
Ultimately, I believe the greatest evil of USAID-style patronage is the vast astroturfing, and thus destruction, of art, as seen on display in this viral video involving comic Natalie Cuomo. Listen to episode for full discussion!
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