I've really helped

So, I've watched 5 minutes of Live 8 and realised I've taken an important step towards helping those in Africa.

On a completely unrelated issue, I recently read an interesting article released by the Globalization Institute, titled More Aid, Less Growth. Well worth a read if you have an economics bent. The salient quote from the paper says "What this means is that on average a 1 percent increase in aid as a percentage of GDP in the sample decreases annual real GDP per capita growth by 3.65 percent." It also notes that this statistic does not improve (contrary to popular opinion) when the nation receiving the aid is well governed.

Still, the above is nothing compared to mighty Live 8's "More Aid! Fair Trade!" mantra. I wonder what Geldof would think of this: "Helping and encouraging developing countries to create business environments that are compatible with free markets is a promising and a potentially cost-effective way to unleash the individual effort and creativity in those countries." What a load of old tosh. How am I supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy in the knowledge I'm helping out if the unwashed little ingrates take matters into their own hands?