Among the many superlatives associated with Hurricane Katrina can now be added this one: it produced one of the most extraordinary displays of scams, schemes and stupefying bureaucratic bungles in modern history, costing taxpayers up to $2 billion.
Why is this a surprise? You may be able to hold some individuals accountable for the poorly run aid program, but you cannot hold the bureaucracy accountable. Oh, it may get renamed, or slightly reorganized, but it will remain the same old rotten bureaucracy getting tax dollars shoveled at it. It is just another reason why private aid organizations are preferable. If they waste your donation, you can withhold your donations or give them to another group. If you are upset about government waste and withhold your money, you go to jail.
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