Human Catastrophe

Citizens of the Gulf Coast—like all Americans—deserve more from their government. They deserve:

• A government that can maintain life-saving levees.

• A government that can deliver emergency assistance when disaster strikes.

• The knowledge that people who lead vital agencies, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, got their jobs based on competency, not connections.

• And a government that's committed to rebuilding the Gulf for the people of the Gulf, not to line the pockets of powerful special interests.

As documented in a new report by the Campaign for America's Future, President Bush and company hired their cronies, outsourced core functions and shrunk government until it was too small to respond effectively once Hurricane Katrina struck.

Their strategy says cut government services and shift public responsibilities to private interests—even if doing that could compromise the well-being and safety of American citizens.

The problem here is clear. It's incompetent by design. You can't starve government of needed resources and talent, and still expect it to deliver peak performance when major challenges arise.

The tragic response to Katrina was not an accident. It was not a surprise. It was a direct expression of the conservative governing strategy of George Bush and his friends in Congress.

It's time for change. It's time we re-empower our government to do its job, put people first, and rebuild a great American city.

A leading conservative ideologue, Grover Norquist, once quipped: "My goal is to cut government ... down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

Here are the results: Much of the Gulf Coast remains devastated, and hundreds of thousands still struggle for basics that American's should never be expected to sacrifice: a home, a job, functioning schools, and health care.

Many of those greatest hit—from New Orleans' lower 9th ward—were actually making these sacrifices before Katrina struck. The fact that they continue to struggle disproportionately today makes one thing clear: The President and conservative lawmakers still aren't serious about rebuilding the Gulf for those most in need.