The case against large, remote bureaucracies

The most important take away from the Gulf disaster isn't that oil is icky - it always has been - or that there are risks - no duh.  It's that large, remote bureaucracies are not equipped - institutionally, culturally, organizationally or otherwise - to plan for, rapidly respond to and manage disasters that happen somewhere else to other people.  It is the other side of the coin of the argument I made during Katrina.  If you recall, dear reader (I think there was only one of you back then - thanks Mom!) I made the point that all of the vituperation poured on Bush was misplaced:  New Orleans should have been accountable for the vast majority of preparation and response to the Hurricane, after all, New Orleans had the most to lose, were the people on the ground, and had the best eye on what needed to be done.  To expect a distant bureaucracy to care as much about your home as you do is silly.  All the Feds could do was get as much aid there as quickly as possible (and at least a week later than Walmart) and waive restrictive regulations that interfered with the rescue and cleanup effort (which Bush did almost immediately).

Of course the observant reader will point out that Wal Mart is the second largest bureaucracy in the nation and they did a good job.  But WalMart had hundreds of stores and perhaps a dozen DCs in the affected area and they were doing precisely what they do best:  move goods rapidly and efficiently to their points of distribution.  By contrast, government bureaucracies are best at regulating other peoples behavior in minute detail and punishing flaws.  Their ability to plan, organize and execute is almost nil.

The hyper observant reader (OK, Mom, that's enough already) will also note that Louisiana and New Orleans, despite being closest to the Katrina catastrophe did a lousy job.  Yes.  And by and large the people responsible for that incompetence are gone (Kathleen Blanco) and the new regime has radically improved response, witness this disaster.  By contrast, the Federal response to this catastrophe is even more ham handed and feckless than Katrina - a feat heretofore thought impossible.

The biggest problem with the system is the lack of clear accountability:  States and locals blame the Feds, the Feds blame the S and Ls and both blame BP.  By vesting accountability and control at the state level, we could make sure preparedness was done by people with a lot to lose if it didn't get done.  The Feds role should be limited to resources and providing relief from the (ever) stupid regulations and trade restrictions that our rentboy Congress delivers to its Johns.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  315 million people, 15 trillion in output spread over 3.6 million miles canNOT be administered from Washington.  It is too big, too complex, too fast moving.  The tectonic forces brought to bear on our political system tear the polity apart producing a paralysis that leads to our government being found, floating face down in the gulf.