The Real Disaster: The Failure of FEMA

This entry is based off of this article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31243608/ns/us_news-life/

It was not too long ago that Hurricane Katrina victims had to wait 7 days for federal emergency aid to arrive. Now, here we are, and people have had to wait for a lot longer for assistance on a smaller scale.

When the Federal Emergency Management Agency was created, it was intended to bring together different pieces of other federal agencies to form a single, cohesive agency with a single purpose. FEMA was an independent agency, for the most part, until 2003, when President Bush decided to throw it under the umbrage of the newly-formed Department of Homeland Security. When this was done, severe changes were made; even its first director, Michael Brown -- you know, the guy that turned out to be the fall-guy for Bush -- warned that the agency would not be able to work as well as before. Funds were drawn away from natural disaster relief and put into counter-terrorism efforts. So, when Hurricane Katrina blasted into the Gulf Coast, the agency was ill-prepared to meet the demand, and was clogged by the bureaucratic machine known as the DHS.

There are many different solutions that could have been applied to the situation in Cedar Rapids. FEMA could have coordinated an effort to buy out the flood-damaged houses, thus relieving home owners of their mortgage obligations. FEMA could have worked with lenders, insurers, and other interest holders to repair the homes. Instead, FEMA's response was to provide a lump sum of money, and expect homeowners to figure out how to stretch it over time and fix their own problems. Naturally, the money ran out.

The people of the United States, by and large, fear government interference in their lives. At least, this is what they fear when they have the luxury to do so. People fear the government until they need the government to help them. In recent history, the banks and auto-makers pushed for de-regulation and the destruction of the traditional economic safeguards that had protected workers and the American people for two generations. Once they began to reap what they sowed, they came crawling back to the government for assistance in the form of bailouts. Thus, you have the American oxymoron: everyone wants what the government can provide, but do not want to the government to interfere with their lives. The American people want the services of the world -- health care subsidies (Medicare), good public education, a strong military -- without having to pay for it. When that kind of dysfunctional mentality enters the government itself, you have FEMA: an agency that has the duty of doing too many things, and funded with too few resources.

This is not intended to be an attack against the United States or its citizenry. Rather, I want to point out that the failure of FEMA is, in fact, a reflection of the failing of the American attitude towards government. Historically, when the government had regulated the economy, it performed beautifully despite competition from abroad. Now, with de-regulation, the United States struggles to compete. If the government such a great impediment to the economy, why is it that, in its absence, the economy failed? The answer is elementary.

We cannot afford to stand against the government, when we, the people, still control the government. This power was evident when the people nominated a junior senator from Illinois over the ailing Clinton Democrat regime, and when the people strongly voted in favor of letting this junior senator lead the nation over the more-senior Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain. The government is the strongest corporation in the market, providing services to the entire nation, and every American citizen has a voting share (unlike with regard to Freddie Mac or GM). And, like any good investor or shareholder, we should make our voices heard, and our opinions known.