Hence the saying, "Hi. I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."
The government does not trust the people, but asks for trust (and votes) in return, and demands cash and obedience once in power.
Actually, I'm reading it the other way. In Texas, the Government *is* trusting us, the people, to get the job done. They trusted us to evacuate while they evacuated the people who couldn't get out on their own and then rendered what aid they could to the rest of us. There were some problems, but it would have been impossible to better the results.
Now they will trust us to clean up and get life moving again. Houston will be fully functional by the end of the week, as will 90% of the strike zone in Texas. In a month or so, you probably won't be able to tell a hurricane went through at all - except for the monument we'll erect. We like monuments, and we'll probably put one up to mark the largest successful evacuation in human history.
Regarding the Feds, after Katrina and having to deal with the incompetence and corruption in LA, would *you* want to trust local government?