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Showing Original Post only (View all)In Twitter world, Alex Wagner pointed out this op-ed on FEMA, which should go viral. [View all]
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/opinion/a-big-storm-requires-big-government.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=opinion&adxnnlx=1351603714-q9aABtAPY/q9KdHVLRvNoAOctober 29, 2012
A Big Storm Requires Big Government
Most Americans have never heard of the National Response Coordination Center, but theyre lucky it exists on days of lethal winds and flood tides. The center is the war room of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where officials gather to decide where rescuers should go, where drinking water should be shipped, and how to assist hospitals that have to evacuate.
Disaster coordination is one of the most vital functions of big government, which is why Mitt Romney wants to eliminate it. At a Republican primary debate last year, Mr. Romney was asked whether emergency management was a function that should be returned to the states. He not only agreed, he went further.
Absolutely, he said. Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, thats the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, thats even better. Mr. Romney not only believes that states acting independently can handle the response to a vast East Coast storm better than Washington, but that profit-making companies can do an even better job. He said it was immoral for the federal government to do all these things if it means increasing the debt.
snip
Over the last two years, Congressional Republicans have forced a 43 percent reduction in the primary FEMA grants that pay for disaster preparedness. Representatives Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and other House Republicans have repeatedly tried to refuse FEMAs budget requests when disasters are more expensive than predicted, or have demanded that other valuable programs be cut to pay for them. The Ryan budget, which Mr. Romney praised as an excellent piece of work, would result in severe cutbacks to the agency, as would the Republican-instigated sequester, which would cut disaster relief by 8.2 percent on top of earlier reductions. more
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In Twitter world, Alex Wagner pointed out this op-ed on FEMA, which should go viral. [View all]
Skidmore
Oct 2012
OP
K & R I wonder what Romney's "private sector" response would look like...
FailureToCommunicate
Oct 2012
#5
Rmoney: "And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better.”
AndyA
Oct 2012
#6
re:In Twitter world, Alex Wagner pointed out this op-ed on FEMA, which should go viral.
allan01
Oct 2012
#12
I agree with your post, however I want Rmoney NO WHERE near my immoral butt,,,,
benld74
Oct 2012
#36
We should have made this a major part of the campaign. It is too late to have much of an impact now
grantcart
Oct 2012
#22