It was with a mixture of amusement and aggravation that I read
Sunday’s Orlando
Sentinel, which featured a front-page article on the progress of
debris removal after Hurricane Irma.
After a month of waiting for some sign that FEMA contractors would
appear to pick up piles of rotting wood on the side of roads all over Central
Florida, residents finally discovered what life was like before FEMA.
Some enterprising teenagers and others have begun applying the
beauty of capitalism to the sloth-like pace with which government
works. They have discovered that our government has no
motivation to do anything quickly or efficiently and faces no consequences for
moving at around the same speed as a glacier when it comes to serving our
community. One group of enterprising teenagers had earned over $2,000
doing what our tax dollars had supposed to do.
Others have found that it is possible to load storm debris in a
personal or rented vehicle and haul it away on our own. This staggeringly
simple concept is precisely what life in America was like until we turned over
personal responsibility – and neighborly duty – to those that take our money by
force then fail to serve us well. Before FEMA people woke up the day
after and natural disaster, grabbed shovels, rakes and other equipment and got
to work. They also did not stand around telling their neighbors to “wait
for government” when work needed to be done.
I should note that on September 17th I took my
youngest son to Universal Studios. I went out of my way to look for any
signs that a hurricane had passed through either park. I could not see so
much as a twig lying out of place. Apparently, without the federal
government, Universal Studios figured out a way to clean up hurricane messes
with speed and efficiency that would (or should) make any politician
blush. You did not see Universal Studios officials showing up in the news
wearing hiking boots and L.L. Bean clothes (the apparel politicians all wear
when “assessing” storm damage). Instead, carrying out Adam Smith’s
invisible hand, the parks were cleaned up so that profits could continue to
roll in unabated.
Universal cannot force anyone to visit its parks. Universal
would have faced dire consequences if it cleaned up limbs as fast as our
government.
Yet, the Sentinel article also pointed out another interesting
fact.
Apparently, there are local and federal rules and regulations
concerning how and where storm debris can be disposed of.
These rules have led to bureaucratic hurdles that have slowed down
the rate at which hard-working people can clear our streets and make some money
to take care of their needs.
The irony here is self-evident.
First, the government charges us income taxes to pay for FEMA then
fails to do its job with anything resembling urgency.
Then, sick of waiting for our tax dollars to be put to productive
uses, private citizens spend their own money and time to clean up our state
–only to have the same government slow down that process as well.
As a free-market economist it would be easy to contend that our
friends in Puerto Rico would be better served if FEMA was turned over to
Wal-Mart, Home Depot and other profit-centered businesses.
In some ways I actually feel sorry for folks who work for
government who actually care about being good public servants. They are
unfortunately attempting to be productive in a system that rarely rewards
productivity.
This is why the limbs are still on the side of the road.
