The Biggest Problem with FEMA

From the New York Times:

"Under the Bush administration, FEMA redefined its role, offering assistance but remaining subordinate to state and local governments. "Our typical role is to work with the state in support of local and state agencies," said David Passey, a FEMA spokesman.
With Hurricane Katrina, that meant the agency most experienced in dealing with disasters and with access to the greatest resources followed, rather than led."

Disasters may be common to the country as a whole, but they are rare for individual locations. The people who do disasters ought to run disasters.

The NY Times article is terrific, the best I've read about the hurricane and its aftermath. It is also long. Read it here.