Haiti relief lagging

Four months after an earthquake devastated Haiti, Americans have donated $1.3 billion for disaster relief there, almost on a par with their giving after the Asian tsunami in 2004, according to a tally by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

. . . The pace for Haiti relief donations trails that of giving by Americans after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/sharing/2010-05-13-haiti-donations_N.htm

No one should be surprised that Americans donate more to fellow American than foreign disaster victims.

What is surprising is that the authors of these analyses are surprised to discover Americans' patriotic concern for fellow citizens. Or, that Americans may be hesitant to donate to corrupt foreign authoritarian nations where most aid is stolen or not used for the intended purpose.