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Privatize Emergency Relief Efforts

DANIEL HENNINGER over at OpinionJournal.com suggests we privatize emergency relief efforts. I like his ideas and the suggestion is right on the money.
Imagination is not a gift usually associated with bureaucracies.--The 9/11 Commission Report.

The response to Hurricane Katrina suggests we are not very good at it. The stark images of bereft people in New Orleans and Mississippi are said to reveal inadequate preparation by the agents of government--from elected officials to bureaucracies--whose duties include commanding the vast resources and authority of government to provide help when it is most needed.
And this is the truth. The government should enable private companies to do what they are good at, and get out of the way. We have already seen how private companies have stepped up to the plate, and done a lot for the victims of the hurricane.
A public role is unavoidable and political leadership is necessary. But if we're going to live with First World threats, such as the destruction of a major port city, let's deploy the most imaginative First World brains--in the private sector and academia--to mitigate those threats. Laughably implausible? Look at your TV screen. The status quo isn't funny.

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