Despite one of the quietest hurricane seasons in years, the number of FEMA declarations this year is on pace to hit 139 declarations, which would be the fifth highest since 1953 and 9 declarations higher than the 8-year average of George W. Bush’s FEMA. The problem is that we have created a system that promotes the nationalization of natural disasters.
His system stretches FEMA thin as it has to deal with a new declaration every 2.4 days and encourages states and localities to divert resources away from emergency management to other vote getting areas like education, transportation, and health care. As a result, the nation remains woefully unprepared to deal with a catastrophic event.
For solutions on how to fix it, see “States: Stop Subsidizing FEMA Waste and Manage Your Own Local Disasters.”
