If we’re looking for any indication that 9/11 did not enact a seismic shift in our perspective, the facile citation of state and local “emergency” might be the place to start. For instance, this recent snow storm was a major one, bringing a good amount of snow earlier in the season than is normal. But an emergency it was not. But the town of Salem has called on the state to bail it out for a depleted snow removal budget. And Governor Romney is calling on the federal government to bail out the state for having already spent $2M over the season’s budget (which means that at $15M, they budgeted less than last year’s $16.5M, and even then they had to pass a supplemental fix to pay for a harsh winter). In his words, “The ravages of this storm threatened the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Commonwealth and required emergency measures [and caused] undue financial hardship and devastated state and local resources.'’
Undue? This is New England, and most winters we get a lot of snow. On average, about 41 inches - in recent years, it’s ranged from 15 to 108. A big storm - shy of two feet in Boston, near three feet in the northern suburbs - should not be depleting the year’s snow budget. Or if it does, it’s not because of any emergency but because of a willful refusal to budget for what’s likely to come.
It’s questionable enough that the federal government acts as a sort of insurer of last resort in cases where regularly occuring but geographically unpredictable natural disasters like hurricanes and floods devastate an a part of the country. Pressing for federal funds to compensate for one’s poor planning under the guise of an emergency seems to be government at its most dysfunctional.
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