Let me backtrack a bit here. My position isn't quite "absolute".
I am all for spending more on education and things to help people out. And, I think that having an absolute "you get what you pay for" health system is a bad idea.
I agree that, here in America, the more poor we have the more crime we have. I also agree that poor begets poor. Therefore, I don't mind helping out a bit. Simply because helping them out will eventually help me and those I care about.
However, the crime rate in India is of very little concern to me. Neither is the poverty rate. And the problems in Algeria are REALLY not high on my list.