Civics -- Green/Raby

It's the role of the local government to have resources and utilities prepared because they are the closest to a disaster when it hits. They don't have to wait before aiding their citizens because they're already on site. The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, didn't have the shelves stocked for emergencies and didn't have the buses ready that would transport people to safety. When questioned about why the local government wasn't prepared he blamed it on a lack of bus drivers. Also, 25% of the city's police officers didn't show up to work the day of the hurricane. The local government handled its duties poorly because it wasn't ready, and it didn't take care of its citizens efficiently. The city of New Orleans also opted out of a program called "Project Impact" which was meant to help ready the city in the case of a natural disaster. The city felt it would be too expensive. This ended up being a very bad decision.

The state government, led by governor Kathleen Blanco, was expected to work closely with the national government and FEMA to organize aid efforts after Hurricane Katrina. Much confusion was caused over the fact that requests made by the state,in regards to what kind of aid was needed and where, wasn't clearly specified. The state blamed the national government for not sending in aid quick enough. The state failed in regards to evacuation by not having forms of transportation available for refugees as well as not having evacuation procedures finalized. Instead of blaming the national government for issues the state should have taken it upon themselves to help the people suffering from the Hurricane as much as possible.

The national government was unprepared in many ways because they were changing FEMA and cut funding for projects that would have helped the people. The national government took roughly 20 federal organizations and put them together into one bureaucratic organization known as The U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Though this might have helped keep things organized, it hindered the growth of organizations such as FEMA. Top positions in FEMA were given to friends for political favors instead of on merit alone. The federal government should have sent troops and supplies down to Hurricane Katrina as soon as possible. The system of federalism can be detrimental at times because it can take a while to get things done, and people often blame each other for mistakes. Finally, many people felt that the national government didn't help out till later because the city had many poor and African Americans.

Responsibility is shared between local, state, and national governments. Everyone is responsible for keeping their people safe, regardless of the difficulties, challenges, or disasters that they may face. The government was not prepared for Katrina, because it did not spend the time or money to be so.