More perspective: Another lens through which to see the US government's $350 million donation to tsunami-stricken countries: Australia just upped their contribution to a billion dollars (US$764.5 million). Australia's generosity is all the more amazing considering their population (19.9 million people, a fraction of the US's 293 million) and wealth (the Australian GDP for 2004 was $571.4 billion, while the US's was $10.99 trillion). See the CIA's World Factbook for comparisons between the US and Australia.