https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/us/politics/trump-hurricane-florence-fema.html
In the past week, Hurricane Florence has wreaked havoc over the Carolinas, bringing attention to the government’s efforts to protect the people in those areas. The hurricane has reached a diameter of around 400 miles and is still growing larger, devastating more families. There have been incredibly harmful hurricanes including Maria, Irma, and Harvey, each of which hurt many Americans with high death tolls. Trump commented on his Twitter, congratulating the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for an “unappreciated great job.” However, Trump clearly showed a lack of knowledge about the realities of Maria, not even acknowledging the death toll due to unpreparedness. Many have cast criticisms to the government for not being prepared for the disaster that struck and not responding soon enough with fresh water, food and restoring the power, costing several lives. To this effect, the FEMA admitted that they were not prepared for the storm to be as large as it was, and thus underestimated the supplies they would need to bring to the island of Puerto Rico.
With Hurricane Florence being the first major storm of the year, all eyes are on Trump to see how he will respond and what federal action will be taken to help those stuck in the floods caused by the hurricane. People are curious to see if FEMA will step up and take more actions than it did during Maria to protect the people in the Carolinas as the storm grows. Moreover, Trump’s actions are critical to see whether or not the Republicans can hold onto the House control. Midterms elections are nearing, the results of which could greatly impact the party control in Congress. With Trump’s approval ratings decreasing rapidly, his efforts in the Carolinas could heavily influence the voters and candidates running in the midterm election. The big question is whether or not Trump will allocate more money to help the emergency relief forces or continue to push for change in immigration laws and other less urgent issues.
Personally, I wasn’t incredibly shocked upon reading this article saying that Trump did not highly emphasize disaster preparedness even after the events in Puerto Rico. However, I was surprised to hear that he moved $10 million from FEMA to give to Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the purpose of improving systems of deporting undocumented immigrants. I was appalled to hear that Trump cared more about sending home these immigrants than about protecting Americans who are unfairly suffering from natural disasters without access to basic staples. This connects to international affairs because by spending more money on immigration laws, Trump is deporting more and more people, which has a negative impact on the foreign relation the US has with other countries.
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you think that disaster preparedness and emergency relief efforts should be the states and local governments’ responsibility or that of the federal government?
2. Why do you think that the President’s actions are so highly scrutinized during any natural disaster?
3. How do you think that Trump’s actions and response to Hurricane Florence could affect the results of the midterm elections?
4. Do you predict that Trump will neglect the families struggling in the Carolinas or do you believe he will step up and try to prevent further damage with FEMA?
1. Do you think that disaster preparedness and emergency relief efforts should be the states and local governments’ responsibility or that of the federal government?
2. Why do you think that the President’s actions are so highly scrutinized during any natural disaster?
3. How do you think that Trump’s actions and response to Hurricane Florence could affect the results of the midterm elections?
4. Do you predict that Trump will neglect the families struggling in the Carolinas or do you believe he will step up and try to prevent further damage with FEMA?
I think that disaster preparedness and emergency relief efforts should be both the states and federal governments' responsibility. Different regions of America experience different types of disaster, thus, it would be better for the states to have some say in what their disaster preparedness/relief program should be. However, the federal government should also aid as to ensure that there are enough supplies, especially if the whole state is affected (and thus needs resources from other state) or if multiple states are affected. Meanwhile, I think the President's actions are so highly scrutinized during any natural disaster because during times of turmoil, the affected expect aid or help, and if it is not sufficient, they seek to blame someone. Hence, there are high expectations for Trump that do not seem to be met right now. If Trump does not respond appropriately to Hurricane Florence, there may be a higher percentage of democrat votes in the midterm elections from those living on the east coast. It currently seems like his personal political agenda does not include addressing the families struggling in the Carolinas. However, I am sure the Republican party will urge him to address the issues in fear that not doing so will impact the midterm elections.
ReplyDeleteI think to an extent there is a responsibility of the state to have disaster preparedness and emergency relief efforts, but there is also a responsibility of the federal government. There are expenses that need aid from the federal government but the state governments should have relief and rescue teams set up through an organization or volunteer efforts. I agree with Kathryn that the trump is to highly scrutinized on the disaster because people are looking for someone to blame, and there isn't enough relief or aid currently to help the issue. I don't think his actions are going to have the biggest impact on the midterm elections, because I think people will be looking more into his past actions. I believe Trump won't be doing much more to help relieve the damage.
ReplyDeleteI think that the President's actions are so highly scrutinized during any national disaster because he is the representation and "figure" of the United States government. Therefore, if he does nothing, it represents that the government of the US is not concerned with the health of their people. Moreover, I believe that the President is so highly scrutinized in a natural disaster because their actions determine whether or not he/she should be reelected as their actions portray whether or not they respond well to urgent needs. Therefore, if Trump responds negatively to the situation, there is a high chance that the mid term elections could lead to the election of more democrats because the people believe that Republicans cannot be trusted to make the right calls in times of need to protect the people. Moreover, I agree with Kat that Trump will most likely not address families struggling in the Carolinas which could also lead to a "blue wave" overtaking the mid term elections as more democrats would be elected to achieve some immediate change. Nonetheless, a culmination of bad actions in the past has led to current day opposition to Trump, so Trump's decisions and reactions in terms of addressing the families in the Carolinas or simply addressing the needs of the people affected by Hurricane Florence could be the tipping point that decides which party will gain more representatives in the mid term elections. Finally, as the tragedies of Hurricane Florence pile up, I believe that Trump must act soon in order to prevent national outrage, for although illegal immigration and issues like drug trafficking affect the US, they are not currently hindering the safety of Americans.
ReplyDeleteDisaster preparedness is something that only the state and local governments are truly capable of doing since each different regions face different natural disaster threats, therefore the government can not pass policies that will adequately address every region's needs for disaster preparation. However, when it comes to emergency relief efforts, there needs to be a combination of state and federal efforts. At the very least, the federal government needs to be able to send in funding for emergency workers and aid. The states themselves will not be able to gather the funding necessary to bring aid to families on their own, and will be in even more dire need of funding for rebuilding. However, most of the "legwork" needs to be down by state and local governments as they are the closest to the disaster zone, and will be able to address it the fastest while also being more in tune with the needs of the citizens being affected.
ReplyDeleteI think that both the state and federal government should be responsible for the relief efforts of natural disasters but the federal government should be overestimating the funds appropriated towards FEMA. FEMA doesn't have the proper funds to rehabilitate areas destroyed by natural disasters, and when human lives, safety, and well-being is at stake, we should be conservative in our damage estimates. Natural disasters are likely to become more common and more damaging as time goes on and as our earth continues to deteriorate, so we need to be overly prepared for incidental costs and be ready to go over budget. While the federal government needs to provide more assistance, the states need to be closely involved in the issues so they can help appropriate funds towards the most pressing needs and help regions get back on their feet quicker. FEMA has been long criticized ever since they were unable to properly solve the issues that Hurricane Katrina posed, and I believe that rebuilding the confidence in the people through efficiently finding solutions is essential.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrew in how state and federal government should be responsible in support with relief efforts. Natural Disasters are at an all time high and each state is going to need a lot of support if we constantly get hit with tragedy. FEMA is a large help in these situations but there is always a limit to their help, especially when 10 million dollars are being pulled from its funding. The people must overcome the difficulties and work together as a community to rebuild their states as well. There is a limit to the efforts the government can provide and sometime the change in the person. Those who are able to help others with donations, or even help cleaning up wit you have time. Those small steps can help alot and may be most effective in situations like these.
ReplyDeleteI agree that both the state and federal governments should be responsible for disaster preparedness and emergency relief efforts, however, I believe that more responsibility should be given to the federal government. It is unfair that one state should have to pay a disproportionately higher state tax in order to combat environmental disasters beyond its control; the country as a whole should seek to help disaster-stricken states through a federal tax that would allow for the allocation of funds for rebuilding after a disaster. However, states should also allocate funds for disaster preparedness so that emergency relief can be given to people quickly and efficiently. In terms of how Trump's response to Hurricane Florence (or lack thereof) will affect the results of the midterm elections, I doubt it will have too much of an impact because many of his supporters have overlooked his behavior in the past, and natural disasters only affect a fraction of the population.
ReplyDelete