the clown show in 'our' capital surrounding hurricane trump is based on trading 'aid' for particular actions, and even if its so, its how 'our' government acts on a regular basis;

Amidst all the political brouhaha regarding foreign aid, it is important that we keep in mind the nature and purposes of this particular federal program, as well as its related program, sanctions.

Foreign aid is money that the U.S. government sends to certain foreign regimes. The purpose of the money is to secure loyalty to the U.S. Empire. That loyalty comes in the form of votes in the United Nations or support for U.S. imperialist escapades abroad.

There is hardly ever a formal quid pro quo involved in foreign aid. That is, U.S. officials do not expressly say to a foreign leader, “If you will agree to become a loyal member of the U.S. Empire and support whatever the Empire does, we will send you hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars.”

Instead, foreign aid is based on an implied bribery agreement. Everyone understands what the core term of the agreement is: “We will give you this money and you, in return, will do as we dictate. If you fail to do so, your foreign aid will be terminated.”

The situation is somewhat similar to how many politicians in democratic countries handle voters. During their campaigns, the candidates offer voters all sorts of “free” programs. The voters vote for that candidate in order to receive the “free” programs. Once the candidate is elected, he provides the “free” programs or at least does his best to do so. If he doesn’t, he is voted out of office in the next election. Thus, it’s not a formal bribe because there isn’t a formal quid pro quo, but in actuality it’s bribe nonetheless...........https://www.fff.org/2019/11/12/foreign-aid-and-sanctions/