Israel’s war in Gaza is chipping away at so much of what we – in the United States but also internationally – had agreed upon as acceptable, from the rules governing our freedom of speech to the very laws of armed conflict. It seems no exaggeration to say that the foundation of the international order of the last 77 years is threatened by this change in the obligations governing our legal and political responsibilities to each other.
You don’t nose dive your country and lock up/deport dissenters over chump change, you’re losing more in stability and face (and the more lucrative bribes that come with those) than its worth. Trump’s irrational instability has dropped the dollar value more than any of these donations could cover. The math doesn’t add up.
The payment you’re describing is a tithe; a show of gratitude and servitude. You wouldn’t say a feudal vassal has power over his lord just because the material exchange only goes one way.