Friday, June 20, 2008

Post No. 19: Katrina, Iowa Style

© 2008, The Institute for Applied Common Sense

In late August of this year, it will have been three full years since Hurricane Katrina unleashed her fury on the Gulf Coast, with significant damage to the State of Louisiana. Additionally, we’ve all seen reports of what still remains to be done, and the manner in which the lives of many have been disrupted and have not yet returned to normal. In Post No. 8, the following questions were posed regarding the then current earthquake in China:

1. Three years from now, do you think that China will have done a better job of responding to its earthquake than America did in responding to Katrina?

2. What factors have you taken into consideration in arriving at your position?

3. Are there differences in our cultures and governments that will contribute to the differing responses?

4. How significant will the difference be?

5. Will China have repaired all of the physical damage within three years?

6. Will China have reconstructed the lives of all of the affected people within three years?

Over the past couple of weeks, we have witnessed epic flooding in the State of Iowa. President Bush, during his visit there earlier this week, indicated that he was not unmindful of the ways in which FEMA could have been more responsive to the events of Katrina. The following questions are now posed with respect to the Iowa flooding, and the potential federal response:

1. Three years from now, do you think that America will have done a better job of responding to events in Iowa than it did in responding to Katrina?

2. What factors have you taken into consideration in arriving at your position?

3. Are there differences between Louisiana and Iowa which will contribute to the differing responses?

4. How significant will the difference be?

5. Will America have repaired all of the physical damage in Iowa within three years?

6. Within three years, will China have reconstructed the lives of a larger percentage of the people affected by their earthquake, than America will have reconstructed the lives of the people in Iowa affected by the flooding?

7. Three years from now (i.e., six years post-Katrina), will there still be citizens of Louisiana, affected by Katrina, whose basic needs still have not been addressed?

Please be sure to provide the basis for your positions. This, like the series of questions posed regarding the Chinese earthquake, should be interesting.

© 2008, The Institute for Applied Common Sense

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