Give 'em Shelter

This morning, CNN and other media outlets are reporting that FEMA has purchased over 10,000 trailer homes for Hurricane Katrina victims in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama at a cost of well over $300 million. Problem is—the trailers are sitting in an Arkansas field, unused, and slowly sinking into the mud. Worse, they may have to be junked.

If this travesty were unique, it would be upsetting. But when you couple it with other examples of FEMA's incompetence, including the widespread distribution of FEMA debit cards (to hurricane victims) that have been used to purchase tattoos, porn, and liquor, it’s almost laughable. Our tax dollars at work!

Waste and incompetence in Federal programs is not news. Some would argue it’s simply the cost of doing business. Dishonest “victims” who game the system established to help them is also not news. Others would argue that many good people get necessary aid from the system, and the bad seeds are a necessary evil. They’re probably right, but it is kinda sad.