Tuesday, August 29, 2017

When it Comes to Disaster Aid, be a Good Person

As the Houston, Texas area  continues to be inundated with what may surpass 50 inches of rainfall, tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of people are being forced from their homes with nowhere to turn. The devastation will be tremendous. Hurricane Harvey may be the costliest natural disaster in US history. And in response, if you're a policymaker, you should be a good person.

We're not a bunch of libertarians, there's a role for the government to play in rebuilding, and it should. And although it wasn't budgeted for, there's no reason to hurt someone else in order to provide the relief that people will need.

Would people actually do that? It's hard to believe, and assuredly they're few and far between, but I heard some would be inclined to do so. Obviously such shitty people are lost to the footnotes of history, but at one time they commanded enough power to prevent assistance to other people in need. Like I heard a story about some asshole who held relief funds for Katrina victims hostage because he said that they would become a "catastrophe of debt for our children and grandchildren." One of his solutions was to cut Social Security and Medicare to fund assistance. He was actually willing to accept zero assistance package if it wasn't tied to cuts to Social Security benefits! Now, obviously someone this inane is so obscure I couldn't figure out the bastard's name, but I found a photo:


Or take for example a more recent natural disaster that was a little closer to me in Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The second most devastating hurricane in US history, it caused $71.4 billion in property damage. 50 people died in New York, in addition to the loss of life in other states on the Atlantic seaboard. Over ten percent of the State was without power, and over 100,000 residences were destroyed.

Once again, only a very minute minority of politicians (errr, the majority of Republicans in the House) opposed direct assistance without strings. They did exist, however. Rumor is that a different asshole voted for flood insurance program relief in 2008 when his area of the country was hit, but defended his no vote in 2013 by saying the flood insurance program didn't work (one works for geese, not ganders). Couldn't find this man's name either, but also dug up his photo:


I'd also like to note that not everyone who voted against the Hurricane Sandy was being an asshole. For instance, one man voted against it because he thought 66% of the package was for unrelated spending. It was recently clarified that this was not the case - 2/3 of the spending was not in the form of immediate assistance but rather long-term rebuilding. His office recently clarified that he simply didn't understand how the bill works. See, he's not asshole, he's just a fucking idiot! Once again, wasn't able to find his name:


My point isn't to point out the rank hypocrisy. It's really not. We understand. These men are hypocrites. They're not good people. Need proof? Track the moral courage they've displayed over the last year playing sycophants to their leader. Just be better than them. Help the people of Houston. Don't muddy the aid package. 

Ok, my point is a little bit about pointing out hypocrisy. But see how they're treated now!? Don't be a Mike Pence, nobody wants to be that guy!