With a FOURTH deadly hurricane on its way through Florida, and Ivan still wrecking havoc on the Gulf coast, it seems like a prudent time to mention that Bush has been SLASHING funding to disaster relief at the same time he has been spending money like crazy on practically everything else.
In this week's Boulder Weekly cover story, Jon Elliston chronicles the fate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Bush administration's drive to privatize emergency management. In effect, after the Clinton administration had spent years modernizing FEMA and making it better at responding to disasters under James Lee Witt--which drew bipartisan praise as an excellent example of government re-engineering, the Bush administration took FEMA back to the Cold War era.
Even before 9/11, Bush was looking at ways to use FEMA to shore support for the Star Wars debacle--testing of which has now been pushed back until after the election. FEMA was also seen as an opportunity to push the Grover Norquist line of privatizing government services by pushing private insurance plans. The 2001 budget would have abandoned the National Flood Insurance policy, but when tropical storm Allison hit Tom DeLay's district in Texas, the congressman did an about face and came to the realization that disaster victims were not the same as welfare cheats.
After 9/11, the Bush administration has steered FEMA from providing disaster relief to "homeland security." But instead of hardening targets like New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, it has lavished high-tech, paramilitary pork on rural America. Law enforcement officials have frequently been faced with making purchasing decisions on dual-use equipment or high-tech gadgets that they lack the training to use, rather than disaster fighting equipment that would be put to use in places like Florida during a record hurricane season.
Some FEMA veterans complained that [Bush appointee Joe] Allbaugh had little experience in managing disasters, and the new administration's early initiatives did little to settle their concerns. The White House quickly launched a government-wide effort to privatize public services. In a May 15, 2001, appearance before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Allbaugh signaled that a new, stripped-down approach would be applied at FEMA.
"Many are concerned that federal disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized entitlement program and a disincentive to effective state and local risk management," he said. "Expectations of when the federal government should be involved and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is an appropriate level."
So all you saps down there in Florida--buck up--it's your own fault you didn't buy insurance and now it's time to learn some personal responsibility. From your old pal George Bush.