I guess the question is if FEMA inefficient and if individual States doing their own thing would be worse. I am recalling the 9-11 attacks where the different emergency responders were unable to communicate outside their department silos. Disasters do not always confined themselves to state borders.
Also, there is the problem of inequity as rich statesman provide better support than poor ones. The horrors of the Louisiana levee breaks in New Orleans were a prime example. How to coordinate with critical federal agencies such as the military (the Corps of Engineers during the New Orleans levee breaks).
Also, many states are comprised of a high proportion of federal lands and federally controlled Native American nations. Who is to take the initiative when multiple jurisdictions are involved?
There are sound reasons behind the formation of FEMA. Can it be improved, sure, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
John, thank you for the comment! I think there's a place we can get to where states lead to a greater extent on disaster recovery and coordination with the federal government supplying cash, and to an extent, expertise. States can and do coordinate with one another on disasters. There's more space for states to take a larger role and for the federal government to facilitate the dispersal of expertise to state capitals. FEMA isn't exactly the most urgent institution in need of being decentralized but recent decades, for me, undermine the seemingly forgone conclusion that central power are so much more competent than states on disaster relief.
Good article Robert. The advantage of the central system is the ability to manage and deploy resources nationwide. It’s a scale issue. But, local government can free ride on this service and perhaps not attend to its own resilience, whether through insurance or disaster preparedness. Trump dies force these conversations out into the open and this one is worthy of further debate.
I make this comment on the back of my experience as a Christchurch City Councillor (and finance chair) after the 2010/2011 Earthquakes.
Raf, thank you for the comment! I think there's a role for central power to supply cash and facilitate the dispersement of experience and material resources. What can happen, as you imply, is local government free-riding on that service which raises a separate point: reflexive federal intervention winds up interrupting a feedback loop at the local level where localities may not be so incentivized to improve if they know a considerable portion of relief will be outsourced to the feds.
You might guess that centralized disaster response is less effective than decentralized responses, but I know of no data supporting this.
FEMA was created in response to state disaster relief resources becoming overwhelmed in 2005 during Hurricane Katrina. "If everybody is in charge, then nobody is..." This is why "first responder" organizations - military, police, firefighters, and hospitals - are all organized in a centralized, hierarchical structure.
Centralized coordination of plans and procedures is crucial in emergencies, as evident in the chaotic relief efforts during the 9-11 attacks. During an emergency, everyone needs to read from the same prayer book and share the same level of resources. Your personal opinion flies in the face of decades of evidence.
I guess the question is if FEMA inefficient and if individual States doing their own thing would be worse. I am recalling the 9-11 attacks where the different emergency responders were unable to communicate outside their department silos. Disasters do not always confined themselves to state borders.
Also, there is the problem of inequity as rich statesman provide better support than poor ones. The horrors of the Louisiana levee breaks in New Orleans were a prime example. How to coordinate with critical federal agencies such as the military (the Corps of Engineers during the New Orleans levee breaks).
Also, many states are comprised of a high proportion of federal lands and federally controlled Native American nations. Who is to take the initiative when multiple jurisdictions are involved?
There are sound reasons behind the formation of FEMA. Can it be improved, sure, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
John, thank you for the comment! I think there's a place we can get to where states lead to a greater extent on disaster recovery and coordination with the federal government supplying cash, and to an extent, expertise. States can and do coordinate with one another on disasters. There's more space for states to take a larger role and for the federal government to facilitate the dispersal of expertise to state capitals. FEMA isn't exactly the most urgent institution in need of being decentralized but recent decades, for me, undermine the seemingly forgone conclusion that central power are so much more competent than states on disaster relief.
Good article Robert. The advantage of the central system is the ability to manage and deploy resources nationwide. It’s a scale issue. But, local government can free ride on this service and perhaps not attend to its own resilience, whether through insurance or disaster preparedness. Trump dies force these conversations out into the open and this one is worthy of further debate.
I make this comment on the back of my experience as a Christchurch City Councillor (and finance chair) after the 2010/2011 Earthquakes.
Raf, thank you for the comment! I think there's a role for central power to supply cash and facilitate the dispersement of experience and material resources. What can happen, as you imply, is local government free-riding on that service which raises a separate point: reflexive federal intervention winds up interrupting a feedback loop at the local level where localities may not be so incentivized to improve if they know a considerable portion of relief will be outsourced to the feds.
You might guess that centralized disaster response is less effective than decentralized responses, but I know of no data supporting this.
FEMA was created in response to state disaster relief resources becoming overwhelmed in 2005 during Hurricane Katrina. "If everybody is in charge, then nobody is..." This is why "first responder" organizations - military, police, firefighters, and hospitals - are all organized in a centralized, hierarchical structure.
Centralized coordination of plans and procedures is crucial in emergencies, as evident in the chaotic relief efforts during the 9-11 attacks. During an emergency, everyone needs to read from the same prayer book and share the same level of resources. Your personal opinion flies in the face of decades of evidence.