I know among other things Geldof & Bono were trying to highlight yesterday was a desire to get governments to pledge 0.1% of GDP to developing economic self-sufficiency in Africa. I think this is a noble and worthy cause.

However, can somebody more familiar with the cause tell me why the total must come from government pledges & not individual charity contributions as well? Making it come from a government spending program (via taxation) and not allowing chartibable contributions to be included gives it a smack of income redistribution.

If developing Africa's economies and preventing future famines is the goal, shouldn't the goal be to make every dime count, not score political points?

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