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September 22, 2005

Lessons "learned" from Katrina? Not so much

Via Attytood

It's the poverty, stupid:

"Hortense Davis is waiting at the Houston Greyhound station for a bus that may not be coming. The 73-year-old woman called the Red Cross today to find out what she should do about the storm. She said she was told to go to the bus station and tell them she had no money and needs to get out of the city. 'But when I got here, they said they couldn't help me,' she said. 'So now I'm just sitting here.'"

Once again, the poor and the vulnerable fly under the radar of the GOP:

Some tenants of Galveston's public housing projects are among thousands who could face being stranded on the island and risk losing their lives should a major hurricane strike.

The tenants are among those identified by local and state officials as the region's most vulnerable residents who could be killed in a hurricane because local evacuation plans virtually ignore those without cars, in group-care homes or with no family to see to their safety.

Nearly all state, regional and local officials -- including many of those responsible for overseeing evacuations -- acknowledge that their current plans rely so heavily on self-evacuation that the poor, the old and the sick may have little chance of escaping a deadly storm.

The Republicans are absolutely paralyzed when it comes to knowing what to do for these massive natural disasters..especially for those in poverty.

This isn't about learning the lessons of Katrina. We've known for years how to manage large scale evacuations and to prepare for hurricanes. It helps to have experienced, serious people in charge for one thing. It has to actually matter to elected leaders that people are dying because of their ideologically driven ineptitude.

Government requires thoughtful individuals who understand poverty and the necessity of government intervention to assist the poor. The Republicans have ostensibly abandoned government as a safety net for the vulnerable in this society. Government's job is to get out of the way of the wealthy so that they can create more wealth.

And in the meantime, hundreds die in our own country because they're too poor to buy a car to get out of the way of a big storm.

Posted by Carla at September 22, 2005 04:20 PM