Instead of focusing on the happy things in life, I find myself wondering aloud if our federal government may have purposely delayed sending in aid to a natural disaster for reasons of racial and class discrimination.
My “tin-foil” hat goes on below the fold…
Throughout that Tuesday in September of 2001, the government scrambled to get aid to where it needed to be, to get those injured and traumatized the care that was needed. The world marveled at our nation’s rapid response and even in the face of a few thousand American deaths, it seemed as though our government was prepared to take care of its people (its primary responsibility in times of tragedy).
While the attacks of September 11, 2001 were a surprise (at least to those of us without access to the PDBs from the month before), we were prepared. So, how come the response to a storm we all knew was coming for more than 48 hours before landfall was so pathetically lax?
I think one must first take a good long look at the two areas involved. Manhattan is the cradle of American finance, a symbol of American power, a symbol of the American dream. New Orleans and he surrounding areas stood in stark contrast to that image. The area is home to what may have been the poorest Americans, at least financially. The city and the surrounding areas were inhabited by a mixture of races, black and white, but mostly poor, incredibly poor.
So, surely our government, whose primary responsibility is to care for its neediest citizens wouldn’t delay aid to these people just because they are poor, right? I would hope not, but as each day passes, I find it harder to believe otherwise.
As someone who works in the healthcare industry, on the administrative side of things, I became aware of a program that was established after 9/11 to provide funding for emergency medical treatment to those without private, state or federal medical coverage. This fund is administered by FEMA and medical providers in the gulf region are already working out the details on how to get reimbursement for treatment to refugees.
What does this have to do with FEMA’s response time? Well, thinking back to who is stuck on the streets of New Orleans, the poor and those who stayed behind to care for them. Of those left behind, many do not have healthcare insurance to pay for the medical care that will assuredly be needed when they are moved to a place of safety. One cannot survive for three our four days without food and water in those conditions without needed medical care afterwards. And that medical care will be very expensive, with that money coming out of the government’s pockets via FEMA.
I hope to god that I am wrong about this; that our government values human life over money, but the last four years have taught me otherwise.
Maybe I am just burned out by the horrors that are taking place in our country as we read, maybe I am frustrated by the helpless feeling of not being able to bring those who were left behind to safety, but I cannot help but think about this one thing:
it costs a lot less to bury the poor than to treat them…..