What does it matter what Bush knew about the New Orleans levees. Without the cooperation of the local officials he couldn't have done anything anyway.
When a disaster like Katrina which strikes several states at once and affects millions of people, what one state has the resources to get in and help the people after such devastation? Name one state government that would have been able to respond to the aftermath of Katrina...all by themselves? Remember too that because of Iraq, many of the state's National Guard were deployed. Men and equipment that would have been available to help after Katrina were not there.
It isn't the role of the federal government to bail out every city that has a natural disaster.
Remember the famous words, "United we stand, divided we wall"? Natural disasters will occur, but it's not economically feasible for each state to have the resources on hand to cover them. That's why FEMA was created. To bring the resources of the Federal Government to bear, to help our citizens when in need.
The president has the responsibility to respond to all disasters, man-made and natural. If that were not the case, then NYC should have cleaned up after the attack on 9-11...all by themselves. And they should have funded the war in Afghanistan all by themselves. And the war in Iraq all by themselves.
Do you know how much money has been spent by the federal government in response to 9-11?
Compare that response to the response to a natural disaster Katrina? Compare the number of people affected. Compare the square area affected.
When you put it on a ledger, the effect of Katrina on the nation, the people, the infrastructure and the economy was 1,000 fold the affects of 9-11. Yet the response was less than 1/10,000 in terms of federal dollars spent...
That's food for thought. It certainly is the responsibility of our nation to respond to desperate needs of our own people. It is not our responsibility to bring democracy to the world. Where in the Constitution does it say that we are to support other country's needs?
Orca |
