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The Main Lesson from Hurricane Katrina May Be that Governments Need to 'Get Out of the Way'
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(OPEN):
HAS THE GOVERNMENT LEARNED ANYTHING FROM THE LESSONS OF HURRICANE
KATRINA? AS GUSTAV THREATENS THE GULF COAST, ON THE EVE OF THE
THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF KATRINA, DANIEL ROTHSCHILD SAYS THAT THE
PRIME LESSON FROM KATRINA IS THAT GOVERNMENTS HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE
WAY; ROTHSCHILD IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE MERCATUS ["MURR-KAY-TUSS"]
CENTER AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY'S
"GULF COAST RECOVERY PROJECT"...
(ROTHSCHILD):
"GUSTAV MAY WELL PROVE TO BE THE FIRST TEST OF
WHETHER THE GOVERNMENT HAS LEARNED ANYTHING FROM HURRICANE KATRINA.
UNFORTUNATELY, LITTLE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESS INDICATES
THAT ANY LESSONS HAVE TRULY BEEN ABSORBED. DISASTERS ARE, BY THEIR
NATURE, MESSY, CHAOTIC SITUATIONS; NO ONE PERSON KNOWS MORE THAN A TINY
SLIVER OF THE REALITY ON THE GROUND, AT ANY ONE TIME. AND, THAT'S
WHY IT'S CRITICAL TO EMPOWER THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND NON-PROFIT GROUPS TO
MOVE QUICKLY."
(CLOSE):
MERCATUS HAS JUST RELEASED A REPORT USING ON-THE-GROUND RESEARCH FROM THE
GULF COAST, TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT'S WORKING IN THE REBUILDING EFFORT.
MERCATUS SCHOLARS HAVE THREE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING A
DISASTER: GOVERNMENTS SHOULD AVOID MAKING COMMITMENTS THAT THEY
CAN'T KEEP; GOVERNMENTS SHOULD ALSO ALLOW ENTREPRENEURS AND THE
FOR-PROFIT SECTOR TO DELIVER NEEDED SUPPLIES AND SERVICES, BY MINIMIZING
BUREAUCRACY; AND AID SHOULD BE DELIVERED VIA CASH OR VOUCHERS--NOT
THROUGH IN-KIND ASSISTANCE--WHEREVER POSSIBLE--TO SUPPORT CREATIVE,
GRASS-ROOTS PROBLEM-SOLVING. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE
LESSONS LEARNED, VISIT
"MERCATUS"-DOT-ORG; THAT'S "M-E-R-C-A-T-U-S"-DOT-ORG.
