Those who forget the lessons of history…

Mitt Romney looked pretty funny today carrying unnecessary supplies for the relief of Sandy victims to a truck during a "disaster relief" political rally in Ohio.  That's probably the most he's lifted since he had to carry his own cooler full of Perrier and single malt scotch to his boat last summer.

The Red Cross said thank you for the effort but receiving well-intentioned food and other supplies actually creates more work for volunteers who have to sort, clean, ship and distribute the accumulation of unrelated materials.  The Red Cross prefers money so the appropriate supplies can be purchased and distributed efficiently through its established organization, often having to leave unsolicited supplies on the side until someone can get to them.

Also as the day progressed, Romney's infamous statement that the Federal Emergency Management Agency ought to be dismantled and the job sent back to individual states came up several times.  How would you like to be Romney telling that to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie today? In the primary debate where he said that, he went further saying it would be even better if emergency response could be sent all the way back to the private sector with businesses becoming the first and subsequent responders to disasters.  That actually works in some cases, for instance there are private oil spill response companies, mostly who provide management teams.

However even those are overseen by a unified command that usually includes the U/S. Coast Guard.

Also try to picture a company maintaining an inventory of the amount of equipment needed to respond to a Sandy-sized disaster for years, just in case it might be needed.  Would businessman Mitt see that as a sound investment?  To be honest there are ways around that and nationwide, oil spill responders and people who fight wildfires have found ways to cascade equipment when it's needed.  But that equipment is usually days if not weeks away.  A disaster like Sandy demands immediate response.  (Speaking of immediate response, did anyone pick up on the former Bush FEMA director (remember Brownie during Katrina) today accusing President Obama of responding too quickly?)

Try to remember from history class in high school why the government took over firefighting and who was responsible for it.  I have friend who is studying for her GED test and I am guessing she has a better chance of knowing the answer than a Republican running for president in 2012.

The person responsible was Benjamin Franklin. That name should ring a bell with someone.  Hint: the Liberty Bell.

During Franklin's time in Philadelphia, insurance companies owned the firefighting businesses.  When a person bought fire insurance for his building,  the company affixed a plaque to his house to identify it for that company's fire department. Firefighters responding would only put out fires on buildings with their company's metal signs visible.  Picture the fire in Queens last night where 80 homes burned.  Now add to the melee maybe 20 different fire departments answering the call but only working on fires in buildings their companies insured.  Franklin saw buildings left to burn to the ground because they had the wrong insurance plaque.  That led to the formation of the nation's first government-funded fire department which became the model for today's firefighting organizations.

Now we have a presidential candidate who wants to return to a system run by the private sector.  Look at what private insurers have done to the cost of medical care in this country, the lessons of private firefighting learned in the 18th century, and it's not too difficult to figure out what will  happen if disaster response reverts to private providers.  If you lived in a hurricane zone (and in case you haven't noticed, that zone is getting bigger) imagine the cost of private companies being your initial responders.  

Leave that grandma on the roof, she has a different insurer.  We can only sandbag this house.  We can't evacuate these kids because they can’t prove they have our insurance. Or as in the example above, 20 companies fighting what amounts to a single huge fire. Or, taken to an illogical extreme but knowing the Romney history, what if the firefighters themselves had to come from China? Just call Bain Fire Protection LLC, Shanghai. Chaos.

Think about it. We complain because the Republicans are trying to dump reforms that have been in place since the 1930s.  This one goes back to the 1790s for crying out loud.  There weren't even Republicans or Democrats at that point.

Those who forget history are bound to repeat it. That sounds like it might have been one of Ben Franklin's witticisms. And, by the way, why can't there be a Franklin around when we really need one?

If you really want to help, forget about canned foods and bottled water:  Text 90999.  That will donate $10 to the Red Cross. Or visit the organization's web site at redcross.org.  It's not just me, that's what the President advised today as well.