Congressional Issues 2012
MORALITY AND CULTURE
Disaster Assistance and Government Insurance

Congress should:

• require federal government insurance programs to use private-sector underwriting and risk classification techniques,
• authorize tax-deferred treatment of private insurers’ catastrophe reserves, and
• reduce the scope of current government insurance programs and not launch any new federal reinsurance schemes.

Did "We the People" write a Constitution which gave the federal government the responsibility to rebuild thousands of houses and businesses which were built below sea level between the ocean and the Mississippi River? Who could know that a home built below sea level might get wet? Who could guess that building a business in "tornado alley" might be asking for disaster? Who could possibly predict that building a hotel in the path of a hurricane could be risky? What psychic could foresee any problems from constructing a house at the base of a volcano like Mt. St. Helens? Could anyone in California have ever imagined that an earthquake might level their home? Is it the business of the federal government to repair the damage done to a beach front home in Malibu every year, year after year, as the winter rains repeatedly erode the shore, and the wealthy owner repeatedly rebuilds the home on the same spot?

America became the greatest nation on earth by cultivating "Yankee Ingenuity" and personal responsibility, not by clamoring for government bailouts.

America became the greatest nation on earth by responding quickly and magnanimously to genuine disasters and human needs.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: Public Problems, Local Solutions Rebuilding the Gulf Coast: Entrepreneurs VENTURES IN REBUILDING: THE ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE POST-DISASTER CONTEXT | Frederic Sautet The ingenuity of entrepreneurs can make a significant difference in whether a disaster-stricken area rebounds or stagnates. Case study 1 Alicia Cool, Bloomers Flowers   THE USE OF KNOWLEDGE IN NATURAL DISASTER RELIEF MANAGEMENT | Russell Sobel and Peter Leeson Who does a better job of providing disaster relief: the government or the private sector? A reprint from the Independent Review. Case study 2 Casey Kasim, Discount Zone   ENSURING DISASTER | Daniel Sutter Natural disasters are called "acts of God," but the severity of their effects depends upon factors such as insurance regulations.   HURRICANE RECOVERY COMES OUT OF A BOX | Steven Horwitz Big box retailers such as Wal-Mart were extraordinarily successful in providing help to damaged communities. This article explores why private retailers mounted an effective response. Case study 3 Ben Cicek, Da Parish Coffee House   DROWNING IN BUREAUCRACY | Veronique de Rugy How has the Small Business Administration done in providing disaster loans to those affected by the Gulf Coast Hurricanes? Case study 4 Ronda DeForest, Flour Power   LOUISIANA'S PERFORMANCE IN THE NEW KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY | Jody Lipford and Bruce Yandle Can Louisiana compete in the global economy? Case study 5 Tim Williamson, Idea Village   AN ARTFUL RECOVERY | M.Z. Hemingway Entrepreneurship in the arts is helping to rebuild New Orleans. Case study 6 Luis Colmenares, Artist BOOK REVIEWS: A Shocking Ideology  |  Curtis Melvin Naomi Klein "hollows out" logic. The Great Debacle  |  Daniel Sacks Douglas Brinkley's The Great Deluge leaves the reader wondering, "Why?" Tales of the City  |  Randal O'Toole What is a City? raises more questions than it answers. Picture This  |  Erin Agemy and Rosemarie Fike Thomas Neff filters New Orleans's stories through his lens.   A summary of research

Additional Disaster Resources

• The Answer to Katrina by Walter Block
• After the Storm: Hurricane Katrina and the failure of public policy. - Reason Magazine
• Katrina and the Never-Ending Scandal of State Management - William L. Anderson - Mises Institute
• Deficit Spending for Katrina by Ron Paul
• Katrina and Socialist Central Planning - Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. - Mises Institute
• Katrina Relief Six Months Later by Ron Paul
• Katrina, 1; FEMA, 0 by Gary North
• How the Market Might Have Handled Katrina - Robert P. Murphy
• Responding to Katrina by Ron Paul
• Big Government + Hurricane Katrina = Disaster by Carla Howell
• The Cato Institute: Katrina
• Conservative Central Planning by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
• Katrina and the Fishy Logic of the State by Lila Rajiva
• Did Big Government Return with Katrina?
• Public and Private Responses to Katrina: What Can We Learn? | The Independent Institute
• The State and the Flood by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
• God Help You When the Government Does by Becky Akers
• Katrina and the Authorities by Michael S. Rozeff
• Then Katrina Came - Walter Block - Mises Institute
• Bob Barr 2008 Blog » Blog Archive » Barr on Hurricane Gustav
• Agency Gets Items Meant For Katrina Victims
• The Point: Leaders in Both Parties Turning to Faith-Based Solutions
• Let's Stop Making Disasters More Disastrous by Thomas A. Bowden -- Capitalism Magazine
• Legislating Price Controls Won’t Aid Katrina Recovery | The Independent Institute
• How Private Development Can Help the Post-Katrina Recovery | The Independent Institute
• Will the Government’s Abysmal Response to Katrina Recur During a Terrorist Attack? | The Independent Institute
• The Long Road Back: Signal Noise in the Post-Katrina Context | The Independent Institute
• Take the Politics Out of Disaster Relief | The Independent Institute
• Myanmar’s Real Cyclone | The Independent Institute

• Insurance Regulation and Government Insurance Cato, 2004
• Disaster Assistance and Government Insurance Cato, 2002
• A federal catastrophe? Testimony of Tom Miller on reinsurance coverage for catastrophic losses
• DISASTER RELIEF (CalifLP)
• INSURANCE (CalifLP)
• In a Crisis, Markets More than Ever