Balanced Government and Disasters

Well, I was over at my personal page, replying to comments on my latest post. Such a mundane topic of rain came up, which naturally got the old brain a-working.

I had heard maybe a week ago on the radio that particularly in Texas and Oklahoma, the central-southern states had been pounded with some heavy rains, to the point that certain communities might be declared disaster areas, the newsman speculated.

So, I got to thinking about balanced government, of course, and how the reaction to a "disaster" is different in a balanced vs. imbalanced scenario.

Today, when a storm hits, the feds rush in to "save the day" and declare the affected area a "disaster area." This ostensibly frees up the feds to marshall resources to communities that need them. Except... didn't we have a pretty big storm a couple years ago that proved this model doesn't work as effectively as the most local spheres taking charge?

There were lots of lessons to take away from Katrina. Like, don't hire your buddy for FEMA Chief if he's not qualified for the job. Well, true, but more importantly: the federal government is too big, distant and slow to respond to the needs of citizens when you get right down to it. And on the heels of that: self-governing people are the best responders to disasters like Katrina.

Now obviously, when a genuine disaster hits (Katrina's estimated cost: $80 billion), states are going to need help. In a more balanced government, however, we'd witness states helping each other out more often before rushing off to call in the feds.

Something like this happened in my neighborhood on a small scale a few years back. After a pretty strong storm, an enormous tree branch was hanging down off of one of the neighbor's trees, laying partially attached in the middle of the yard. Three of the neighborhood guys were attempting to turn the branch and dislodge it from the main trunk, with no success (bunch of Sallies). Naturally, I came along and volunteered my services and the four of us were able to dislodge the bugger; then the chainsawing could commence. If you have a meat head like me in your family, take heart: even we have our moments of glory, although it usually involves lifting heavy objects.

I think this is a fine analogy to illustrate how a more balanced government would work. Before calling in the cops (or the public works department, or a tree cutting service, or whatever) we all grabbed hold of the problem and turned it around.

This is not to say that there shouldn't be times when the feds might have to step in and lend a hand - use the same analogy and have the entire tree knock down some power lines for the whole block. Clearly, this is something that a handful of neighbors aren't equipped to handle. Yet, there is much that we can do for our neighbors when they need help without running off at the first sign of difficulty to get some help from the "authorities."

Lord knows that the lesson from Katrina was that there are times when the "authorities" aren't going to be able to help you, and you need to count on your own wits and the help of your community.