Romney: Misery = Profit

By Susan Jack

“Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better. Instead of thinking, in the federal budget, what we should cut, we should ask the opposite question, what should we keep?”- Romney on FEMA during the GOP Primary.

Mitt Romney, it seems, thinks it’s a very good idea to privatize disaster relief- that is he thinks it would be a swell idea to pay private companies to make a profit off citizen’s misery. To the millions who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy, this probably doesn’t sound like a very good idea, yet Republicans are doubling down on the notion that FEMA is a cursed agency.

“I think people care about whether or not their power’s on, whether or not their basement’s going to be flooded,” Republican strategist Richard Bonjean said to Politico October 29th. “And I think that if the president gets too far in front of this and something goes wrong, people are going to remember, hey, my power’s not out, and the president’s talking about FEMA. I’m not a real big fan of FEMA. That could sway their vote.”

Conservatives may rail against big government, but will happily, hypocritically expect a cot in a shelter, a free MRE or two, or a loan up to $200,000 from Uncle Sam to help them repair their storm damaged homes the moment the wind starts blowing. Dollars to donuts, you can bet that Donald Trump will have his hand stretched out for government assistance to repair his casino in Atlantic City. As with so many other subjects, we can only conclude that Romney dumped on FEMA simply to be contrary to Obama rather than considering the ramifications of his statement.

Attempts to demonize FEMA will be difficult, though, as Obama dispatched the agency to the Eastern Seaboard before Sandy made landfall. Governor Martin O’Malley (D-MD) told both “Meet the Press” on Sunday and “The Ed Show” that “Craig Fugate and the people at FEMA, Secretary Napolitano and President Obama, they have been excellent. They have been with us since day one. And actually, before the storm arrived, they were here. And it’s worked really, really well. This is a much better FEMA than the olden days.” O’Malley was joined by Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) in praising Obama for dispatching FEMA early as well as declaring some states emergency zones ahead of the storm, allowing the states to start the paperwork for requests for government aid. Obama has also told all governors of affected states that to “cut through the red tape” if the governors need anything, they should call Obama directly at the White House.

By suggesting that FEMA be shelved and private industry step in, Romney would be adding yet more red tape rather than lessening it. Devolving disaster aid to the States and then private industry will create 50 new offices of medium level bureaucrats to handle requests- requests that would take longer to fulfill and with varying degrees of success as states negotiate with businesses. Varying levels of care might create knock-on security issues in the aftermath of a storm like Sandy, especially if the “have-nots” get desperate enough to receive the same level of care as the “haves” just over a neighboring state border.

Under the Romney/Ryan administration, disaster relief might have to be streamlined, whether it needs it or not. Republican lawmakers already have attempted to erode the infrastructure of the nation’s disaster preparedness. According to Slate’s David Weigel Republicans “funds Operations, Research and Facilities for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association with $454.3 million less than it got in FY2010; this represents a $450.3 million cut from what the president’s never-passed FY2011 budget was requesting. The National Weather Service, of course, is part of NOAA — its funding drops by $126 million. The CR also reduces funding for FEMA management by $24.3 million off of the FY2010 budget, and reduces that appropriation by $783.3 million for FEMA state and local programs.”

Republicans last year, even when faced with a devastating tornado in Joplin, Missouri, Hurricane Irene, and a rare earthquake in Virginia, told the nation that funds for public aid would only be provided if the money could come from other programs or already earmarked cash rather than just adding to a growing deficit. Candidates Romney and Ryan seem to want to double down on what House Republicans have already done; although the Romney/Ryan campaign hasn’t specifically stated what they would do with FEMA, they haven’t excluded it from what is widely assumed to be across the board cuts to pay for Romney/ Ryan’s advertised 20% reduction in personal taxes.

[UPDATE] In a move that surprises almost no-one, Mitt Romney pulled a triple axle flip flop the morning after Hurricane Sandy made landfall. “Gov. Romney believes that states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions,” Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said in a statement. “As the first responders, states are in the best position to aid affected individuals and communities, and to direct resources and assistance to where they are needed most. This includes help from the federal government and FEMA.” A campaign official added that Romney would not abolish FEMA.

What Romney described above would work quite well- because this is what is happening right now all up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Governors and mayors are coordinating with the Federal Government and FEMA to fix what they need to, get the lights back on, and keep displaced citizens fed, watered and sheltered.

“One thing I’ve learned in life is you make the difference you can,” Romney said at a rally billed as a storm relief event in Dayton, Ohio today. Romney, who takes great stock in his gubernatorial experience, didn’t make much of a difference for the town of Peabody, Mass.. In the spring of 2004, Peabody was flooded with rain- and to give credit where credit is due, then Governor Romney asked for the federal government to declare Essex, Middlesex and Suffolk counties emergency areas. However, that fall, the Massachusetts Legislature lobbied to spend $5.7M, with $22M available matching federal funds on flood prevention; prevention that was sorely needed, as locals were quick to point out that every time there were significant rains, downtown Peabody would flood. Romney vetoed it.

In Slate, John Barrett, who was the VP of the Massachusetts Mayors Association in 2004, said that this was typical of the Romney administration. “”This was not unusual for him. He didn’t understand infrastructure improvements. It was just the bottom line. He never visited communities. He never understood the issues. He never sat down with mayors or city managers. He never understood why those things were in the budget,” Barrett said. “That money was requested by locals. It was a major league problem.” For a man who wants to become President of the United States, Romney has placed himself on a fairly steep learning curve

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