A Can't-Do Government

NY Times ^ | September 2, 2005 | PAUL KRUGMAN

[nj26]

Before 9/11 the Federal Emergency Management Agency listed the three most likely catastrophic disasters facing America: a terrorist attack on New York, a major earthquake in San Francisco and a hurricane strike on New Orleans. "The New Orleans hurricane scenario," The Houston Chronicle wrote in December 2001, "may be the deadliest of all." It described a potential catastrophe very much like the one now happening.

So why were New Orleans and the nation so unprepared? After 9/11, hard questions were deferred in the name of national unity, then buried under a thick coat of whitewash. This time, we need accountability.

First question: Why have aid and security taken so long to arrive? Katrina hit five days ago - and it was already clear by last Friday that Katrina could do immense damage along the Gulf Coast. Yet the response you'd expect from an advanced country never happened. Thousands of Americans are dead or dying, not because they refused to evacuate, but because they were too poor or too sick to get out without help - and help wasn't provided. Many have yet to receive any help at all.

There will and should be many questions about the response of state and local governments; in particular, couldn't they have done more to help the poor and sick escape? But the evidence points, above all, to a stunning lack of both preparation and urgency in the federal government's response.

Even military resources in the right place weren't ordered into action. "On Wednesday," said an editorial in The Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss., "reporters listening to horrific stories of death and survival at the Biloxi Junior High School shelter looked north across Irish Hill Road and saw Air Force personnel playing basketball and performing calisthenics. Playing basketball and performing calisthenics!"

[tbeatty]

Bingo. Yup. and the national Guard was called up by the governor of that state. You should have seen the DUmmies getting all riled up when she ordered the guard to stop lawbreaking by any means necessary.

They know they bear the resposibility for being unprepared so they try and move it as a federal response problem instead of a state problem.

Last time I checked, states build their own schools, roads, bridges, leavies, improvements, etc, etc. The feds might help out (like they did with the leavies) but it's up to the states and cities to decide what and when stuff gets built. New Orleans and Louisiana decided not to improve their leavies.

[Lancey Howard]

The anarchy, looting, hopelessness, and helplessness we are seeing in the aftermath of Katrina is the result of too many people always believing that government is watching out for them and will always be there to help them. Liberalism is indeed a mental disorder because it breeds an addiction to government that leads crowds of mostly healthy people to sit around and wait for the government, their savior and God, to come to their rescue. This liberal Democrat scumbag Krugman has always believed that government is God and so this blubbering column is not at all surprising coming from him. And his dying toilet paper of an employer is no different.

[WideGlide]

Why have aid and security taken so long to arrive?

Bush had to consult with his strategerists first.

[zzen01]

New Orleans has had corruption problems for centuries!

[Peach]

Army Corp of Engineers says it wasn't lack of funding that caused this problem.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1475305/posts?page=1

[MonaMars]

"Must .. resist ... urge ... to ... loot ... NYTimes ... building."

Pick a time. I'll come with you ;)

[GOP_Party_Animal]

Absolutely! All Guard units in Louisiana should have been called up on Saturday night to provide security on Tuesday morning for the entire city and surrounding area.

Same thing happened in LA during the riots. It took forever for California to mobilize it's National Guard troops. Pathetic.

[NordP]

Again, thank you for your post. EXACTly right.

The Dems would have Bush micromanaging EVERYTHING....so they could blame him about everything later.

But that said....how's about we concentrate more on fixing everything now-- there's people out there to save and support.

[SunnyD1182]

Wow. Krugman was debunked even before he posted his column. He sets new records for being debunked every day.

[Steve_Stifler]

I sense the guy at the National Review demanding yet another Krugman "correction."

[noblejones]

>>
. . . nation so unprepared? . . .
<<

What the hell do they have elections for in Louisiana then? They chose know-nothing demoRATS to run the show and they paid the price. Nobody asked my opinion.

[God luvs America]

First question: Why have aid and security taken so long to arrive? Katrina hit five days ago - and it was already clear by last Friday that Katrina could do immense damage along the Gulf Coast. Yet the response you'd expect from an advanced country never happened.

Typical lib....be reactive, not proactive- were he genuine the first question would read something like, "It was clear last Friday that Katrina could do immense damage- so why did local politicians not began a massive evacuation effort?"

Of course the fact the NO politicians are incompetent libs like Krugman makes it easy to understand why he doesn't ask the question...

[Soul Seeker]

See the name Krugman....first signal it's from the fingers of the devil's minion's...

I wonder if Krugman, Sid and RFJ Jr. have ever considered working on a joint piece of evil.

[DTogo]

Thousands of Americans are dead or dying, not because they refused to evacuate, but because they were too poor or too sick to get out without help - and help wasn't provided.

Too poor? Thousands come here illegally every year without speaking English yet they end up getting a job, a driver's license, a car, insurance (sometimes), gas, a road map...

There will and should be many questions about the response of state and local governments; in particular, couldn't they have done more to help the poor and sick escape? But the evidence points, above all, to a stunning lack of both preparation and urgency in the federal government's response.

Yeah, never mind the incompetence at the local-level Democrats, let's all take aim at the Federal-level REPUBLICANS!

[Peach]

LOL!!!

[Ron in Acreage]

I guess 8 years of Clinton pouring hundreds of millions of dollars down the N.O. toilet did wonders. Looks like it got flushed and probably diverted right into the local dems bank accounts.

[NordP]

No, if you are a leader you give your cabinet members a day to compile a worthy assessment of what is actually going on--the damage, the needs, and the resources. THEN, you make your decisions based on a plan formulated from the best information, and instruct those who would carry out the plan, how to do so in the most efficient manner possible.

This is a HUGE undertaking, and you don't go in like a bull in a china shop--just to get SOMEthing done. With this much damage, the more organized your approach, the better off those you are trying to help, will be.

The "when in doubt, blame the President" approach is becoming more and more transparent...and is more destructive than constructive.

[vetvetdoug]

Those USAF personnel playing basketball and doing calisthenics are raw recruits right out of basic training. They are just beginning their training in electronics, administration, and air traffic controlling and the like because Keesler is a training base. They are military but they are green untrained troops. They are the last active duty troops that should be used in a civilian area.

[michaelt]

Krugman is obviously a glutton for punishment. Luskin and the Krugman Truth Squad, and maybe the Powerline guys will be all over this one.

[WideGlide]

No, if you are a leader you give your cabinet members a day to compile a worthy assessment of what is actually going on--the damage, the needs, and the resources. THEN, you make your decisions based on a plan formulated from the best information, and instruct those who would carry out the plan, how to do so in the most efficient manner possible. This is a HUGE undertaking, and you don't go in like a bull in a china shop--just to get SOMEthing done. With this much damage, the more organized your approach, the better off those you are trying to help, will be. The "when in doubt, blame the President" approach is becoming more and more transparent...and is more destructive than constructive.

Whoa Nordo! You obviously didn't see my tongue firmly implanted in my cheek. But thanks anyway for the Poly Sci lecture.