Hurricane Helene FEMA and the weak Federal response

[UltraBudgie]

Oh, and it's not lost on me that "paying" to them is about money (and who gets it)... the "mission" is superfluous flummery... "appearances" only.

And here (gasp) I think I might accuse you of being too cynical.

The fact is, FEMA is filled with many people who really do want to help.  Yes, there's opportunism and all the normal high-school power game crap, but there actually are idealists, lots, who are trying their best with the system they feel is the best existing possibility to magnify their efforts.  They actually take this seriously.

And in a way, that's even more of a tragedy.  The intrinsic inhuman selfishness is an emergent effect of the bureaucratic system itself.  Bad eggs can be thrown out, but the fundamental dynamics of the larger system will remain.

I said no one is seriously talking about eliminating FEMA.  Not true -- some people are.  But it seems no elected representative in the executive or legislative branch, which has actual authority over them, is.  And if they were, then they'd likely replace it with something pretty much exactly like what's there, because FEMA is something, and something must be done.  And of course, FEMA is also staffed with management who are more than happy to undertake investigations of how to improve the agency, and, if Congress is willing to fund modifications, they will be more than happy to implement it.  See how it works?