HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Stossel: Hurricane Reconstruction

Views:861
@ReasonVids

Is rebuilding after disasters the government's responsibility?

----------------
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/reasontv
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason
Subscribe to our podcast at iTunes: https://goo.gl/az3a7a

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.

----------------

The recent hurricanes took a heavy toll. The cost of rebuilding will be significant.

Politicians from the areas hit now want tens of billions of dollars in aid.

When disaster strikes, the federal government definitely has a role because the feds control resources like the military and other first responders. After Hurricane Harvey, FEMA housed 42,000 people in 692 shelters. After Irma, 13,000 National Guard soldiers helped rescue and evacuate people. That's the kind of emergency response we expect from the federal government.

But why is rebuilding afterwards the federal government's responsibility? Until recently, businesses and charities handled most disaster response.

In 1906, the massive San Francisco earthquake and fire that followed destroyed 80 percent of the city. The city was rapidly rebuilt because it was done by the private sector, not cumbersome bureaucracies. Companies like Johnson and Johnson shipped in rail cars full of donated medical supplies.

After the great flood of 1916, again, businesses immediately stepped in. The federal government did very little. The midwest recovered.

When massive tornadoes swept through Oklahoma a few years ago, volunteers from a charity, Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief, used bulldozers to clear tornado debris from more than a thousand homes. The charity's director, Sam Porter, said "I don't think there's any kind of disaster that can take place that the non-profit and faith-based groups cannot take care of."

Whether that's true or not, there's no doubt that the private sector does a better job than government. Federal rebuilding creates moral hazards that lead to expectations of even more government help.

Produced by Naomi Brockwell. Edited by Joshua Swain.

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
john stossel
,
hurricane
,
rebuilding
,
federal
,
trump
,
hurricane harvey
,
puerto rico
    Thumbnail for DIY Biohackers Are Editing Genes in Garages and Kitchens4:57
    DIY Biohackers Are Editing Genes in Garages and Kitchens
    ReasonVids
    1085 views
    Thumbnail for The UN will have complete legal authority over every American in the USA12:04
    The UN will have complete legal authority over every American in the USA
    bestofvoatxyz
    829 views
    Thumbnail for The FDA and CDC's Coronavirus Response Is a 'Failure of Historic Proportions'34:51
    The FDA and CDC's Coronavirus Response Is a 'Failure of Historic Proportions'
    ReasonVids
    849 views
    Thumbnail for I did NOT see that coming! 0:22
    I did NOT see that coming!
    bestofvoatxyz
    771 views
    Thumbnail for Kike whore puts foot in mouth0:15
    Kike whore puts foot in mouth
    bestofupgoat
    454 views
    Thumbnail for Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie on why the Obama Honeymoon is Over1:28
    Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie on why the Obama Honeymoon is Over
    ReasonVids
    996 views
    Thumbnail for Don't Break What's Working in Health Care: Economist Glen Whitman on Medical Innovation9:13
    Don't Break What's Working in Health Care: Economist Glen Whitman on Medical Innovation
    ReasonVids
    878 views
    Thumbnail for Socialism vs. Capitalism: A Debate with Jacobin Magazine1:45:37
    Socialism vs. Capitalism: A Debate with Jacobin Magazine
    ReasonVids
    813 views
    Thumbnail for Watch SpaceX launch a Falcon Heavy with the X-37B secret spaceplane! #USSF52 | Everyday Astronaut1:00
    Watch SpaceX launch a Falcon Heavy with the X-37B secret spaceplane! #USSF52 | Everyday Astronaut
    invidious
    330 views
    Thumbnail for Average looksmatch couple in 20220:07
    Average looksmatch couple in 2022
    bestofsaidit
    695 views
    Thumbnail for How Medicaid & Obamacare Hurt the Poor - and How to Fix Them4:57
    How Medicaid & Obamacare Hurt the Poor - and How to Fix Them
    ReasonVids
    973 views
    Thumbnail for 3 Reasons the FCC Shouldn't "Touch" the Internets2:14
    3 Reasons the FCC Shouldn't "Touch" the Internets
    ReasonVids
    1010 views
    Thumbnail for Stossel: Blackwater and Erik Prince Do Mostly GOOD7:29
    Stossel: Blackwater and Erik Prince Do Mostly GOOD
    ReasonVids
    916 views
    Thumbnail for Mr. Burns Goes Shopping2:48
    Mr. Burns Goes Shopping
    clips
    891 views
    Thumbnail for The Solution to California's Drought: A Free Market in Water6:16
    The Solution to California's Drought: A Free Market in Water
    ReasonVids
    894 views
    Thumbnail for Hunter Biden. 3 Days Clean. No Pants.1:39
    Hunter Biden. 3 Days Clean. No Pants.
    LibertyIsTheLaw
    21859 views
    Thumbnail for 'Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom' Comes to Netflix6:36
    'Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom' Comes to Netflix
    ReasonVids
    818 views
    Thumbnail for The Democrats' Deceptive Narrative on Immigration2:59
    The Democrats' Deceptive Narrative on Immigration
    ReasonVids
    983 views
    Thumbnail for O'Keefe confronts hack Cos Cob Elementary School Assistant Principal Jeremy Boland.2:19
    O'Keefe confronts hack Cos Cob Elementary School Assistant Principal Jeremy Boland.
    bestofpoal
    575 views
    Thumbnail for Can the Government Make Entrepreneurs Do Useless Things For No Reason?1:56
    Can the Government Make Entrepreneurs Do Useless Things For No Reason?
    IJvids
    890 views
    Thumbnail for Silent No More - Shockwaves - Baby Murder Recovery Campaign8:36
    Silent No More - Shockwaves - Baby Murder Recovery Campaign
    bestofwolfballs
    598 views
    Thumbnail for USB-C Ports Are Catching Fire... #Shorts | Phone Repair Guru0:59
    USB-C Ports Are Catching Fire... #Shorts | Phone Repair Guru
    invidious
    82 views
    Thumbnail for Khan Academy Founder Talks Radical Education Reform and The One World Schoolhouse13:41
    Khan Academy Founder Talks Radical Education Reform and The One World Schoolhouse
    ReasonVids
    962 views
    Thumbnail for What is the Ideal Strategy for the Libertarian Party? A Soho Forum Debate1:34:01
    What is the Ideal Strategy for the Libertarian Party? A Soho Forum Debate
    ReasonVids
    847 views
    Thumbnail for Erik Voorhees: Governments Can't Stop Bitcoin 'Despite All Their Guns and Weapons’32:25
    Erik Voorhees: Governments Can't Stop Bitcoin 'Despite All Their Guns and Weapons’
    ReasonVids
    916 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
john stossel
,
hurricane
,
rebuilding
,
federal
,
trump
,
hurricane harvey
,
puerto rico
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle