The Lesson of Katrina

The Katrina hurricane has finally awakened the media and the public to one huge reality that few were formerly willing to accept – the important difference between bureaucracy and a free market. While no American wants to criticize the many fine, dedicated individuals working in governmental offices who try to deliver good service, Katrina showed us that many of them are hampered by an over-abundance of rules, regulations and prohibitions at the local, state and federal levels.

“Government at all levels failed the people,” Senator Susan Collins told the national press. But what happens in the private sector when a disaster happens? First and foremost, no one, who has any sense of what is needed to avert disaster to his own property, business or family, waits for permission to act. But the bureaucracies all wait for “go-ahead” orders.

“It took FEMA eight days to help us. But Wal-Mart was ready with truckloads of food and water almost immediately…” Mayor Phil Capitano of Kenner, LA angrily declared on television “Go to Wal-Mart and find out how they did it,” Capitano said.

There are many ways the poor could have escaped from Katrina if they had realized the responsibility was theirs – not the government's. Most private businesses or land owners act immediately when an emergency occurs. If people live where they know there is danger, they should realize they must move or take steps to minimize the danger.

Here are some of the ways the private sector provided services without the need of “permission” in the past. The need for shelter for travelers led to the private creation of motels. The need for reliable medical care led to credentialing doctors and approving drugs by private associations. The need for safety from burglars led to private protection agencies and walled, gated housing developments. The need for elderly care led to the rapid growth of private senior housing. Trash collection was started by private companies, not government.

The reason the marketplace provides the best solution to public needs is due to new ideas initiated by persons who have the desire to innovate. Any business that provides an improvement to its product or service that attracts new customers will soon find its competitors following suit. The public votes with its dollars to reward the products and services it wants and the marketplace indicates what society values. Private insurance companies can tell us where dangers may exist to life or property and how to protect ourselves from such risks because they want to avoid costly claims for damages.

Invention, imitation and competition allow free markets to grow, change and provide for public needs swiftly and efficiently. But the government cannot react in a timely manner to accommodate all potential needs. Berwick Duval of Government’s Coastal Conservation Commission indicates an example of governmental failure when he relates how went before Congress for ten years “…telling them of disaster if the wetlands were not restored. They didn't do anything….” Government bureaucracies ignored Duval’s testimony.

The government creates monopolies that can change only under extreme circumstances. The Katrina fiasco is an extreme circumstance. Accordingly, the people of this country should work to end federal power over local concerns by rejecting federal controls and regulations over state and private lands. The local property and business owners, charities, and local public leaders can act much more effectively without any huge bureaucratic governmental apparatus.

October 8, 2005

The Best of Tonie Nathan