Time to lay the blame?
Yesterday, I was discussing with Stellito how reasonable it is to blame President Bush for mis-handling the crisis brought on by Hurricane Katrina. "President Bush has been imperiled politically by what was widely perceived to be a slow federal response," the New York Times reports. Bush is trying "to erase the hardening impression that his administration had failed to act with sufficient urgency to address the suffering of tens of thousands of people."
Typically, Paul Krugman lays out the important questions in a pretty sober and sensible manner (his style illustrates why - unlike most people - I quite like economists). At this point, it seems reasonable to write of "a stunning lack of both preparation and urgency in the federal government's response." Krugman identifies the root causes in budget cuts resulting directly from the costs of the Iraq war, and the Bush admin's destruction of the effectiveness of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "At a fundamental level, I'd argue, our current leaders just aren't serious about some of the essential functions of government. They like waging war, but they don't like providing security, rescuing those in need or spending on preventive measures."
Maureen Dowd, also writing in the New York Times, relates the level of catastrophe directly to Bush admin policies, in a manner that looks a little like clutching at straws to me. She's right about race and class being a pretty strong determinant in how affected people are by this kind of thing, though.
I think it's a little far-fetched to blame all of this on the Bush administration though, and a lot of the commentary is nothing but political opportunism that takes little account of the fact that Democrat governments have been only a little better in terms of slashing budgets for federal agencies in the last few years. There seems to me to be little purpose (apart from petty political point-scoring) in blaming Dubya for the hurricane. A calm look at the problems and their roots (the direction in which Krugman is heading) is a much more constructive way to proceed. Those who think politics is about powerful individuals will never achieve anything. Only when one is able to appreciate the complexities of the problems can one go about finding solutions.
On a much lighter note, here is a picture of a feline junkie that I found quite amusing.
Typically, Paul Krugman lays out the important questions in a pretty sober and sensible manner (his style illustrates why - unlike most people - I quite like economists). At this point, it seems reasonable to write of "a stunning lack of both preparation and urgency in the federal government's response." Krugman identifies the root causes in budget cuts resulting directly from the costs of the Iraq war, and the Bush admin's destruction of the effectiveness of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "At a fundamental level, I'd argue, our current leaders just aren't serious about some of the essential functions of government. They like waging war, but they don't like providing security, rescuing those in need or spending on preventive measures."
Maureen Dowd, also writing in the New York Times, relates the level of catastrophe directly to Bush admin policies, in a manner that looks a little like clutching at straws to me. She's right about race and class being a pretty strong determinant in how affected people are by this kind of thing, though.
I think it's a little far-fetched to blame all of this on the Bush administration though, and a lot of the commentary is nothing but political opportunism that takes little account of the fact that Democrat governments have been only a little better in terms of slashing budgets for federal agencies in the last few years. There seems to me to be little purpose (apart from petty political point-scoring) in blaming Dubya for the hurricane. A calm look at the problems and their roots (the direction in which Krugman is heading) is a much more constructive way to proceed. Those who think politics is about powerful individuals will never achieve anything. Only when one is able to appreciate the complexities of the problems can one go about finding solutions.
On a much lighter note, here is a picture of a feline junkie that I found quite amusing.
posted by UK plc at 2:31 PM
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