Let’s depend on neighbors, not government, for help after a disaster

When natural disasters recently afflicted the nation’s three most populous states and its largest territory, the most impactful images shared across America were those of heroism and giving, of neighbors helping neighbors, of strangers helping strangers – not of government bureaucrats, but by the private sector and through personal philanthropy. 

As but one example, consider Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. The NFL star set out to help flood victims, with a goal of raising $200,000 via social media. Donors quickly pitched in with large and small amounts, and before long Watt had raised an astonishing $37,131,917. 

{mosads}Meanwhile, as word spread about the flooding in Southeast Texas, boat owners from neighboring Louisiana mobilized their self-styled “Cajun Navy” to help rescue families trapped by rapidly rising waters. In Florida, a similar scenario unfolded under the auspices of a “Cracker Navy,” recruited via Facebook. Similarly, requests for all manner of volunteers generated heartwarming responses from those willing to set aside their personal travails to help their fellow citizens.

This isn’t to minimize the job done by the various levels of government, including the feds. In Texas, U.S. Coast Guard helicopters, flying despite dangerous conditions including gusty winds and incessant rain, plucked stranded families from rooftops while the National Guard helped local first responders maintain order amid the chaos. In the tinder-dry mountains of California, where media coverage of the wildfire crisis was largely upstaged by the hurricanes, heroic firefighters battled rapidly spreading flames whipped by shifty gale-force winds.

Moreover, by most accounts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency also performed admirably, thanks in part to reforms made under the leadership of Floridian Craig Fugate during the Obama administration. 

Even some of President Trump’s harshest critics have begrudgingly conceded that he provided effective leadership during these crises, even as he had to with a growing crisis posed by the rogue regime in North Korea. Yet it’s noteworthy that most of the heavy lifting for the governmental response to the natural disasters was performed by officials of the governments closest to the people. 

At the state level, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Rick Scott quickly took charge. Local governments, working with private groups such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, opened shelters and provided food, water and hope to thousands of evacuees.

Private businesses — ranging from home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s to grocers such as HEB in Texas and Publix in Florida — went beyond the call of duty to re-establish supply lines ravaged by the storms. AT&T Florida pledged over $1 million towards the relief effort and many other corporations in all three states took similar action. Moreover, as soon as the coast was clear, investor-owned utilities had crews in the field engaged in the often dangerous work of disentangling downed power lines to restore service. 

Sadly, there are places on this planet where such an effective collaboration between government and the private sector can no longer occur because government’s relentless growth has neutered private philanthropy and largely usurped the role of the private sector, leaving it too weak to be of much help in times of crisis.

These storms have taught us that the private sector and personal philanthropy kick in when needed most. While government has a role, it is incapable of doing everything for everyone. So if private philanthropy and limited government at every level exercising its proper role can work during times of disaster, why can’t Americans expect that to be the same during times when there are no natural disasters? From Washington D.C. to state capitals across the country, sadly, that question remains unanswered.

J. Robert McClure, Ph.D., is president and CEO of The James Madison Institute, a non-partisan think tank based in Tallahassee, Florida.