A Modest Proposal for Disaster Preparedness

Evidently, in l'affaire Katrina, the central government's "failure" to usurp the responsibilities of individuals, businesses, and local and state governments will lead to something like this:

• Congress will invoke the Commerce Clause to make such usurpation constitutional.

• No president will dare veto such a "popular" mandate.

• The Supreme Court, with its "Living Constitution" majority intact, will endorse the central government's usurpation of responsibilities that lie elsewhere.

• Congress will appropriate vast sums of money to ensure that no disaster goes unanticipated or is not reacted to instantly.

After all, how else can we possibly be certain that Mother Nature will never again claim as a victim an American or a visitor to the United States (legal or illegal)?

And when the central government is through earthquake-proofing, fire-proofing, and flood-proofing every structure in the United States it will start accident-proofing every vehicle and baby-proofing every bit of furniture and clothing. It would then go on to illness-and-death-proofing every person -- perhaps retroactively -- but by then it would have long since driven the economy into the ground. And so, as usual, the poor will be left to fend for themselves (as if everyone else doesn't have to do so). But all will be poor, and the Left will -- at last -- be happy. A perfect world in which all are equal, and equally miserable.