Choice & Personal Responsiblity

There seems to be a big push for personal responsibility in this country. Politicians frequently say that people should responsible for the choices that they make, but how can this happen when governments make choices for them?

A good example are the recent hurricanes. Though Rita was much less disastrous than Katrina, many people lost their homes during both storms, or were burned to death in a bus. In both cases, although people lost their homes, almost all are being compensated in one way or another by the federal government, in effect removing the responsiblity of the victims. They aren't all victims. Thousands of people chose to not evacuate or were not able to due to lack of reliable transportation. These same people chose to live on a coastal city that is prone to hurricanes. By living in an area like that without the means to leave quickly, they sealed their own fates. They could have prepared by either planning for such a disaster in advance or moving to an area that would not require evacuations from hurricanes.

Now I probably lost most of my readers. You are probably thinking that we shouldn't be so hard on these people, since they are poor, immobile, etc. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. I shouldn't be responsible to bail them out for it. We're going to soon bail out Trent Lott, the Mississippi senator. He lost his beach front house during Hurricane Katrina. Most people would argue that he doesn't deserve the federal aid and I agree. But I go a step further in saying that nobody deserves federal aid, except for people who have been fucked over by the federal government.

And for all of you who were too cheap to give to the Red Cross... don't worry, the federal government has made a non-transparent, non-accountable (i.e. subject to corruption, like the oil for food program), $600 (and climbing) donation to the Hurricane Victims on your behalf. This money will be used for wholesome services like lap-dances. Although, if the federal government gave me free money, I think that would be quite a suitable thing to spend it on...

Back to the main point. If you want personal responsiblity to actually exist, then let it. Don't bail anybody out. Send them a bumper sticker letting them know what happens, and tell them don't come crying because your coastal city got flooded. Build again with your own money or move.