The Trouble With Government

A lot of my friends know I have a jaundiced view of government, and some have suggested I must be having a field day with the apparent incompetence at local, state and federal levels in responding to Katrina.

Actually, as disastrous as the situation is, I don't think now's the time for finger-pointing. The problem turned out to be far more serious than most contemplated (and even those who thought this might happen considered it a worst-case scenario). It's hard to handle such problems, and it's even harder to handly them quickly.

The bigger point, though, is what mostly bothers me about government isn't how it sometimes falls short in extreme situations, but how it normally works during the rest of the time.