Floridians discover that self-reliance works better than government

 What follows is my recent column in the Orlando Sentinel

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 17^th 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.