In Monday's Philadelphia Inquirer, distinguished economist Paul Krugman blamed "lethal federal ineptitude" for the Hurricane Katrina death toll, claiming that the Bush administration "debated lines of authority while thousands died." (The total Louisiana count stands at 423, with the Katrina total being over 650.)
"Lines of authority" are still being debated (by a lot of people outside as well as inside the Bush administration) and I suspect they'll continue to be debated, as they would have been, regardless of how many people died. It doesn't seem to matter right now how many of the victims died in the disaster itself or died from the delay in getting help after the disaster (is anyone sure what "after" means?), and I don't know whether that debate will ever be settled. What I don't like is the now-you-see-it-no-you-don't manner in which the "thousands" morphs to hundreds. It's one thing to attribute this to "an emotional time," but aren't distinguished economists supposed to be guided by something other than emotion?
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Of course it goes without saying that if Bush had exceeded his lines of authority and send in federal troops against Blanco's wishes, then Krugman would not be calling for his impeachment.
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Don?t bang your head!
Of course it goes without saying that if Bush had exceeded his lines of authority and send in federal troops against Blanco's wishes, then Krugman would not be calling for his impeachment.