Katrina trailers in FEMA FUBAR limbo

You're looking at a picture of why our federal government doesn't work. Above is a picture of 20,000 trailers, a good portion of them new or in like-new condition, purchased by FEMA in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, at the cost of millions of dollars to U.S. taxpayers.

It turns out many of them weren't needed, so FEMA is now selling them off at fire sale prices. Fair enough, to a certain extent.

My big question is, why not keep some of them on hand, in storage, for the next big natural disaster? Many of them are being stored in Hope, Arkansas, like the ones above, because it's considered one of the safest areas in the south - too far inland for a hurricane to have any significant impact.

But, the million dollar question is - why was FEMA so slow to respond to the tornadoes that hit the south last week? Well over a hundred homes were destroyed, and there the trailers sit. After a bit of public outcry, FEMA agreed to send 30 used trailers to the area. Stop the press!

I understand part of the delay was waiting for President Bush to declare the areas hit by tornadoes federal disaster areas. Fine.

But, once that happened, why not send 150 of them to the tornado-ravaged areas? It's inexcusable that it didn't happen. Why? Because it could and should take one phone call from Bush to his FEMA director, R. David Paulison, to make it happen.

Ring Ring Ring

RDP: Hello, David Paulison here.

W: David, hi, it's the president. Send 150 trailers to the tornado areas, now. Make sure that every displaced family gets one and that no one is left homeless. Make sure it is done in an orderly and fair manner. Implement some safeguards - I want no stories of fraud in the media - how some enterprising individual drove to Alabama and made off with a new trailer on the federal government's dime. Other than that, none of these people should be staying in shelters by the end of the week. Call me if you have any problems or any obstacles, and I'll get 'em out of the way for you, pronto.

RDP: I'll see to it, Mr. President.

##

Wow, that sounds hard. I think that's what they call being a commander in chief. Or, in the infamous words of my college newspaper, in what was one of our worst headlines ever, "Leaders lead people." (Thankfully, that headline wasn't written on my watch.)

Even more frustrating is that FEMA has been broken for years - problems like these span decades and administrations both Democratic and Republican. Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are all examples of FEMA's ineptitude. (And all happening on a Republican president's stewardship, if you're keeping score.)
If problems like these aren't fixed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when are they going to be fixed? What's more, if the unthinkable happens, the detonation of a nuclear bomb, what would our government's response be then?

When I read stories like these, my only thought is that in that situation, the men, women and children in this country would have to fend for themselves. Because we sure as hell can't wait for the government to respond in a timely manner to most natural disaster situations.