The Haitian people are suffering from the devastation of the recent earthquake. There was tremendous loss of life. For many of them, the grinding poverty that they had been living through before has only been intensified. Many more orphans roam the streets. It is a painful situation.

There has been an outpouring of private charity, with people donating money, equipment, supplies and their time. Many people have traveled there to help in the critical early days. People truly are compassionate in times of tremendous need. It is a wonderful thing to behold. There really are heroes and saints who make a difference. Yet, something is very disturbing about the whole situation.

This is not the first earthquake of 7.0 magnitude. Why did this one take so many lives, displace so many people, make so many orphans and obliterate the economy? The obvious answer is that the abject poverty that existed before the quake resulted in construction that could not withstand the stress. The lack of equipment and qualified operators meant that it took days rather than hours before major efforts could scale up to adequately search for survivors. Lack of adequate food and supplies in place meant that it also took days rather than hours for meals to those whose bellies were empty even before it happened. And so on…

The deeper, more profound question is why the country is so undeveloped and critically poor today. Development experts say that the lack of development is due to the stinginess of support from the United States to the government of Haiti. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, can imagine two to three billion dollars of aid for the next ten years. That would be up to thirty billion dollars to the Haitian government for a population of 9 million and an economy that is $11.5 billion per year.

Mr. Sachs and all of his very smart, and very wealthy, Mercedes driving, five star hotel friends in the development community can’t seem to get their minds around some simple facts. For fifty years the entire international development program has been a complete, utter, disgusting failure. The countries that they “help” get worse, while the development experts get wealthy.

Other than help with the immediate needs related to the present disaster, the people of Haiti don’t need funding from the United States or any other organization. For long term prosperity of that nation, they need the recognition that development comes only from economic freedom. There is no other route. There never has been. None of the developed countries of today arrived at the enviable condition because someone else paid their governments money. They are developed because they have, or at least had, a relatively high level of economic freedom.

Haiti ranks 141 out of 179 countries measured in the 2010 Index of Economic Freedom, compiled annually for the last decade and a half by the Heritage Foundation. There are only 38 countries in the world that have been classified as being less free, and you can probably guess off the top of your head many of those which rank lower on the scale. Haiti is the 4th most corrupt country, according to Transparency International. Money given to the government will not end up helping the people, but rather enriching government officials, their favored supporters, and of course, development experts.

For people truly interested in helping the Haitian people, the first step is to stop giving the government money immediately. That only props up and gives legitimacy to a fraudulent business enterprise. If any aid is to be sent to Haiti, it must be to organizations entirely independent of the government. If people are starving, there are organizations which can bring food. If people need medical attention or education or any other service, there are organizations which can provide what is required.

It is time to stop supporting corrupt governments, which oppress the people and prevent property ownership, profitable enterprises and prosperity for the people. It is time to quit making millionaires and billionaires of individuals who abuse the system and multiply the misery of the people. It is time to be truly compassionate to the Haitians and to repressed people all over the globe. Stop sending their governments money and start encouraging true freedom, where they can prosper according to their own efforts. It will be better for them and better for everyone else in the world (with the exception of dictators, their friends, and, of course, development experts.)