Joplin tornado highlights the crucial role of government
An emergency worker searched a severely damaged Walmart store in Joplin, Mo. Charlie Riedel
Editorial The Kansas City Star Posted on Sat, May. 28, 2011 10:15 PM
When President Barack Obama arrives in Joplin today, he will find a quintessential small American city splintered and stunned. People who have witnessed both say the destruction of neighborhoods in the path of last Sunday’s tornado is akin to the aftermath of a nuclear weapon.
But the president will also find a city picking itself up, caring for its citizens, comforting its bereaved and planning for a future that looks much different than it did one week ago.
A massive outpouring of public and private support has sustained Joplin. And as the president arrives in town, it is worth considering the role of government at multiple levels in responding to the crisis.
A pernicious story line, recited on talk radio, in state legislatures and in some quarters of Washington, says that government can’t do anything right. Government is the problem, Ronald Reagan famously said. And a vast political and business alliance works furiously to make his declaration a self-fulfilling prophecy by underfunding vital programs and disparaging public employees.
But when disaster strikes, we expect government to work. We need it to work. Last week, it did.
Police, firefighters and medics made their way through the dark and the rain Sunday night to rescue the trapped and aid the wounded. Kansas City had 50 firefighters en route within hours. Its police department sent communications specialists, tactical teams, a search-and-rescue dog and a traffic enforcement squad.
Other cities sent first-responder teams. They worked in the rain that first day, searching the rubble for survivors and for bodies. In a cruel sign that nature hadn’t quite finished its mayhem, two police officers from Riverside were felled by a lightning strike. Officer Jeff Taylor was gravely injured.
Like the city he was helping, he will have a long road to recovery.
Throughout the week, personnel from the state of Missouri poured into Joplin. The National Guard and the Highway Patrol got there quickly. Officials with expertise in emergency management, insurance, mental health, care of senior citizens, land use and power grids followed.
The often-maligned Federal Emergency Management Agency got a team to Joplin within hours of the tornado to set up telecommunications and help with logistics and support.
This in no way diminishes the vital role of the Red Cross and other nonprofit agencies, and of businesses, in responding to the disaster. But public employees and government agencies make up the underpinning of the recovery effort.
The need for government help in Joplin will continue for years. Streets must be replaced. Schools and a hospital must be rebuilt. Families will need temporary housing.
People who have lost businesses and jobs will need unemployment checks. Some of the tornado survivors will need mental health services, which state budget cuts have seriously eroded. The list is long and costly.
By the end of the week, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican who positioned himself as a fiscal conservative during last year’s campaign, was calling for the federal government to pick up the full tab for the Joplin recovery.
As a congressman, Blunt represented the district that includes Joplin. Shrinking government isn’t so appealing when you need help in your own back yard.
We believe in efficiencies, pension reform and all the smart measures that local, state and national leaders can enact to be good stewards of the public’s money and trust. But events of the past week have shown, not for the first time, that there is no substitute for government’s resources and expertise. We should take the occasion to honor its workers and pledge to keep it strong.
The sad news coming out of Joplin is truly heartbreaking.
This is just not the time to make headlines at this town's expense. They need this country's help to rebuild their lives and community and it's a disagrace that Cantor wants to play political football with what has happened this spring in the south. Let's not forget AL also suffered greatly.
Yes our fathers never complained. Something tells me Cantor didn't learn anything growing up except what was in it for him.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
