Lost in the Flood, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise

May 14, 2011 Martha Thomases 6 Comments

Usually when the network news leads with a story about the weather, I breathe a sigh of relief.  If there is a hurricane in Mexico or a tornado in Kansas, then millions of people aren’t being killed in a war.  Or at least not Americans.

This is different.

It is impossible to watch the flooding in Memphis and other cities on the Mississippi river without being moved.  People who lived far away from the river banks still had their homes and lives destroyed.  Even ludicrous media coverage doesn’t convey how different it is this time.

It’s like Japan and the tsunami, only without the earthquake and the nuclear disaster.

Let me be clear.  This is a tragedy.  It’s a completely random event that no one could anticipate happening on this scale.

And yet …

I can’t help but notice that these natural disasters occur in areas that, for the most part, vote Republican.  In the most recent elections, according to our pundit class, these people are saying that they want to reduce the size of government.  They don’t want to pay for any socialist programs.

I bet they want the government to help them now.

I’m not blaming them.  I’d want it, too.  And, as a New Yorker, I pay for it with my taxes.  Many states that routinely vote Democratic, like New York, send far more money to the federal government than they get back.   Ironically, Red states, like Mississippi, get far more in federal aid than they pay in.

I know that, in order to have help when the unimaginable happens, one has to imagine it and also pay for it.  If FEMA has a surplus this year, one doesn’t cut the budget next year, because there may be more natural disasters next year.  One thanks whatever supernatural power one prays to, takes the surplus and puts it in a reserve fund.

This is what we call “saving for a rainy day.”

Does this invite corruption?  Sure, as does anything that involves humans.  However, it’s better than letting people drown, or lose their homes.

Does this help have to be federal?  Does the government have to be involved at all?  Can’t we take care of our neighbors ourselves?  I admire people who give to charity and work to improve their communities.  However, the federal government has resources and capabilities that allow efficiencies that individuals, state and local governments, and non-profits (including massive ones, like the Red Cross) just don’t have.  You can complain about using the work “efficiency” when talking about the federal government, but try finding an Army Corps of Engineers anyplace else.

And by the way, none of this will ever make a profit.  There’s no point in assigning someone to head this whose only achievement is raising a stock price.

People of good will can reasonably disagree about how much government we want or need.  However, we shouldn’t forget that some things are more valuable than money, and among these things are our homes, neighborhoods and neighbors.

Martha Thomases, Media Goddess, lives on the seventh floor of her building and hopes that the Hudson never floods that high.