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Comment by ajross | Hacker News Reader

But it's a log plot. Adding a factor of 20 just moves the Netherlands up by 1.3 units on the graph, which means it's still landing below the median even without including the private contributions of the other nations.

Sorry, but the Dutch dropped the ball on this one, at least relative to other EU governments. As other folks have pointed out, simple proximity makes the much higher US contribution sensible and sane. But really, the Netherlands, Italy and (especially) Germany need to be up near the UK and France.

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Why? So they can have a 'score' that's on par with other nations?

Isn't it entirely possible that the actual aid physically deliverable in the short term has been maximized?

That is, that the Dutch might be better off waiting and raising/sending targeted expertise and funds during the inevitable, but not starting any time soon, reconstruction phase? (Where much of their expertise is something that very few other nations could even offer)

I suppose it wouldn't hurt to pledge that they'll do that now, but any amounts tied to unspecified quantities of work would be fiction anyway. So the number would only be moved for the sake of making it move.

> That is, that the Dutch might be better off waiting and raising/sending targeted expertise and funds during the inevitable, but not starting any time soon, reconstruction phase? (Where much of their expertise is something that very few other nations could even offer)

Please tell us more about this reconstruction expertise that few countries have. (The Dutch have unique expertise in reclaiming land from the sea, but that's not relevant to Haiti.)

You don't think erosion is an issue in Haiti?

Huh? Much of the Netherlands is below sea level. That's their unique expertise. Erosion from above sea level stuff is an issue almost everywhere.

And, it's not clear that erosion is high on Haiti's list of significant problems.

> But really, the Netherlands, Italy and (especially) Germany need to be up near the UK and France.

In the end, it's their choice based on their values, means, and priorities. The extent to which Americans turn out for private charity is one thing I'm particularly proud of about the USA, but in the end it's everyone's choice individually.

The chart has base e, not base 10. My point is not about how much the Dutch have donated or not, but to show that the inclusion of private donations of all countries would significantly change the chart.

See the comments for the article. The numbers used are so far off that they are meaningless.

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