Romney would end FEMA

If you live in Ohio, you might recall that in March 2012, Gov. John Kasich initially refused to call FEMA when parts of Ohio were destroyed by a tornado:

NY Daily News:
Ohio Gov. John Kasich stands by his decision to not seek aid from the federal government, despite the severe wreckage inflicted by tornadoes that tore through the Midwest over the weekend.

While governors in Indiana and Kentucky have already welcomed federal help, Kasich insists Ohio can do without, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

“I believe that we can handle this,” he told storm victims taking shelter at a high school in New Richmond, Ohio. “We’ll have down here all the assets of the state.”

After a few days, Kasich relented and let FEMA look over the remains of homes and communities that were devastated.  Kasich's reluctance to accept help from FEMA is part of the right wing agenda---- to let people survive on their own.

NYTimes:

....Refusing federal aid is a familiar theme among those on the right who equate assistance with morally corrupting dependency. After the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, then-Speaker Newt Gingrich proposed offsetting federal disaster aid with spending cuts. Last year, when a tornado destroyed much of Joplin, Mo., House Majority Leader Eric Cantor endorsed the same cuts-for-aid idea. Ron Paul said on Sunday that FEMA was wasteful and inefficient, and that states could do a better job.

And Mitt Romney said last year that disaster aid was part of the “immoral” debt the country was piling up, which he promised to slough off on the states or even the private sector.

But relief work is actually a moral undertaking, a way for taxpayers nationwide to help fellow citizens who cannot help themselves. It’s easy to say, as Mr. Romney blithely does, that the states should take control, but many states lack the resources or expertise to deal with immediate and widespread suffering. An earthquake or hurricane can quickly overwhelm even a well-off state, and only the federal government can properly coordinate the response to a disaster that hits an entire region. Twisters don’t recognize state borders....

These Republicans, including Romney, don't give a damn about average Americans. When FEMA comes into an area, residents can qualify for services that are available for those hit by disasters. Romney's example of collecting canned goods that were NOT requested by the Red Cross, shows what he would do if he (God forbid!) were President---- let individuals, not the government, have canned food drives for victims of a disaster. Romney's approach to this type of disaster volunteerism would be inadequate, immoral, and catastrophic.

The RomneyRyan disaster plan is simple: You are on your own!