A recent Public Agenda poll again highlighted a long-held perception amongst Americans that the US is “doing more than its share" internationally. 71 percent said that the US has generally done more than its fair share, 24% said it has done its fair share and only 3% said it has done less.

Such opinions rest on major misperceptions.

Americans estimated that the U.S. gave 37% of all development aid from rich countries. In fact, according to recent OECD figures, the US gives just 12% of the total amount of official development assistance.

One of the areas with the greatest misperception of US contributions lies in foreign aid. The most recent OECD estimate for US overseas development assistance indicates Americans have historically overestimated foreign aid as a portion of the US budget by almost 100 times more than the actual amount!

But addressing the World's major problems doesn’t have to be a costly, complicated undertaking. This short story illustrates the fact that we all have something to give.

“A year ago we decided to quit eating out as much and to use the money to support a needy child. We keep her photo in our dining room and pray for her almost every night. Our daughters write her letters and consider her part of our extended family.

"It’s tough not to feel rich when you’re giving money away.”

Statistically, it is possible to cut World Hunger in half by the year 2015 if the average taxpayer in all industrialized countries kicked in only $50 a year. Would you be willing to pay $50 a year to feed the millions of children and their families who are otherwise slowly starving to death?

Consider donating to a charity with an international focus. Besides finding that your charitable buying power is greatly enhanced when your gift goes overseas, where so much more can be accomplished with much less cost, most importantly, you can literally save lives, as well as experience the joy of giving.

[Sources: WorldPublicOpinion.org; Budget perceptions: Program on International Policy Attitudes “Americans on Foreign Aid and World Hunger: A Study of U.S. Public Attitudes”]

Grant Montgomery on Intern'l Aid and Our Global Responsibility