Reader’s Digest recently gave FEMA a raspberry for ineptness and inefficiency, claiming they lost “some $1 billion in potentially bogus Katrina-related aid. An audit found that the federal relief agency didn’t properly monitor where the funds were going.”
Surprisingly, the inefficiency aspect isn’t the biggest issue to me. The definition of “emergency” means you handle unexpected conditions to the best of your ability. And while audits are necessary, they don’t save lives in the trenches.
I think FEMA got a wake-up call, and learned some powerful lessons in the only way they *can* be learned. Too optimistic? Time will tell.
The raspberry, in my humble opinion, needs to go to any so-called American who tried to bilk the “system” in the face of the catastrophe.
In fact, I’d be in favor of stripping the citizenship of anyone convicted of defrauding FEMA during a declared state of emergency.