New Orleans

Well, now that I'm back, I suppose I should offer some commentary on what has transpired in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I won't get into to the whole feds vs. locals debate because a) it has been covered extensively elsewhere b) I don't know enough to speak confidently about the subject and c) I think we'll get a lot better idea of who is to blame in the weeks ahead.

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A quick note about FEMA director Michael Brown though. There is certainly a rush for him to be fired, and based on what I've read that doesn't sound unreasonable. I think, however, that this perhaps misses the point. Firing Brown, I imagine, is a mostly superficial change that will do little to fix what is wrong with the agency. While his idiocy has certainly compounded the crisis, I think the larger blame falls on the red tape that has proven to be such an obstacle in providing relief. Fixing that -- if indeed it can be fixed given that red tape is part and parcel of government bureaucracy -- should be the top priority. Firing the director would only be a first step.

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Now, while everyone is busy trying to score political points on who screwed up in the crisis, I'd like to focus on another reason why the relief effort has been such a mess: the people of New Orleans. Obviously not all of them. But the city has truly revealed itself as a member in good standing of the third world. No, actually that is unfair to the third world. The kind of depravity that occurred inside the Superdome was rare in the aftermath of the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia. While heads should roll over the lack of planning and supplies present at the Superdome nothing excuses the behavior of the people inside. What occurred was not inevitable. I can guarantee that if the people of Monument, Colorado were all locked into the Superdome together that nothing of the sort would have transpired. That goes for most American towns.

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What occurred outside is equally inexcusable. Firing at rescue helicopters. Shooting at contractors attempting to make repairs. Shooting at national guardsmen. Police participating in the looting. While people want to know what went wrong in the relief effort, I want to know what has turned people into utter savages. Thus far, this is the best explanation I have found. There is something very wrong in our society, and I think that fixing this is the most pressing need facing us.

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Beyond the role of the people of New Orleans in worsening the crisis I think attention also needs to be focused on Congress. We have known for years that New Orleans was vulnerable to a strong hurricane and yet its defenses were completely inadequate. In fact, funding for the levees guarding the city were cut. One explanation that has been offered is because the money was needed for Iraq. Bull. We have enough money, the problem is the manner in which it is allocated. If we've got hundreds of millions of dollars for bridges to be built to uninhabited islands in Alaska, we've got money for levees.

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While I'm tempted to point fingers at guys like Don Young and Robert Byrd as key culprits for this problem, I think it's probably a waste of time. The problem is systemic. Constituents reward their representatives in Congress for bringing home the bacon. Remember the Thune vs. Daschle race? Lots of South Dakotans said that while they agreed with Thune more on the issues that they wanted to keep Daschle around because he brought back plenty of pork. What's the solution?

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Update: More bureaucratic stupidity.

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Another update: Yet more incompetence.

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Further update: More disgusting behavior from the citizens of New Orleans.