Katrina, federalism, and the levying of blame
At Kausfiles, Mickey Kaus makes the interesting argument that perhaps, just perhaps, federalism is to blame for the whole Katrina aftermath "fiasco". That is, the lack of a clear chain of command across (or down through) the different layers of government (federal, state, municipal) prevented any one government from assuming responsibility and control: "This gratuitous complication of authority clearly crippled effective planning for a New Orleans catastrophe."
I disagree that states represent "an unnecessary level of government" -- given the size and scope of the U.S., does a centralized system with a unitary national government ruling over diverse municipalities make any sense? -- but it does seem to be the case that a power struggle between Washington (President Bush) and Louisiana (Governor Blanco), not to mention New Orleans itself (Mayor Nagin), was partly to blame for the initially inept response to Katrina, and hence for much of the death and devastation of those first few days.
I disagree that states represent "an unnecessary level of government" -- given the size and scope of the U.S., does a centralized system with a unitary national government ruling over diverse municipalities make any sense? -- but it does seem to be the case that a power struggle between Washington (President Bush) and Louisiana (Governor Blanco), not to mention New Orleans itself (Mayor Nagin), was partly to blame for the initially inept response to Katrina, and hence for much of the death and devastation of those first few days.
posted by Michael J.W. Stickings at
10:31 PM
3 Comments:
There have always been struggles for power between the federal and state governments, but I find it hard to believe that the states would not have been willing to defer to the federal government in this situation. I think the problem is more ideological, ie, that the GOP has an aversion to government, especially the federal government and are unwilling to take proactive action. There is no reason at all, in my opinion, that the feds couldn't have come in and taken control of the situation--the Administration certainly has not been shy about usurping civil liberties in the search for terrorists.
By
Anonymous, at 9:49 AM
Well, as anyone knows who follows politics, it depends on which side your bread is buttered. Federalism is either great or terrible depending on your particular point of view. But federalism doesn't imply that states have carte blanche in particular areas or that the federal government is exclusive. It's a lot more complicated than that. I think federalism is essentially a political concept that can and should be shaped to fit the exigencies of the moment. I find it hard to believe that the state and local officials in Mississippi and Louisiana would have protested if FEMA had come in and taken charge (although there would undoubtedly have been some ruffled feathers). But the point is, IMO, that both FEMA and the states should have had some plan in place about how to interact with each other. It simply shocked me to see how disorganized and leaderless the response was. Coordination was obviously going to be a difficult issue, but isn't this the kind of thing that FEMA should be thinking about?
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Anonymous, at 9:58 AM
There are clearly problems associated with federalism, though I don't think, Nate, that it's run its course. It's just that it's an extremely difficult concept to put into practice. The Europeans are learning that right now, but we in Canada have been dealing with it, well, pretty much throughout our entire history as a sovereign country -- we have Quebec, after all, a province that has occasionally been governed by separatists. The British are dealing with now that Scotland and Wales have their own parliaments. And so on and so on.
In many cases, federalism makes sense, and Kaus is foolish to think the U.S. could be governed without states.
But federalism also requires delicacy and balance between often competing layers of government. And what we've seen here, in the aftermath to Katrina, is what can go wrong when the chain of command is so nebulous. And, post-9/11, shouldn't there have been -- oh, I don't know -- a plan?! Yes, there's a good deal of blame to go around, but, overall, there was, to paraphrase Marc, shocking disorganization and lack of leadership. At all levels of government.
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Michael J.W. Stickings, at 11:12 AM
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