	Generational Dynamics
	Forecasting America's Destiny ... and the World's

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 13-Sep-05
The world is shocked at America's bureaucratic fumbling over Hurricane Katrina

Web Log - September, 2005

The world is shocked at America's bureaucratic fumbling over Hurricane Katrina

It's hard to get past the feeling that this disaster will turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the country as a whole, despite the terrible losses that people in the Gulf Coast suffered.

There was bureaucratic incompetence at all levels: The New Orleans Mayor didn't deploy hundreds of buses available to him; the Louisiana Governor blocked deployment of National Guard troops and Red Cross aid rather than give up political control; and, at the Federal level, FEMA stumbled over itself, led by an inexperienced leader whose previous tenure was as head of the International Arabian Horse Association.

There was no one in charge. Local, state and federal governments each waited for someone else to do something. There was no coordination. This was not a failure of one level of government or one political group. This was a total failure of the United States.

Even today, two weeks into the disaster, there's still infighting over the question of whether the remaining residents should be forced to evacuate.

The rest of the world has been fascinated by all this. During the week of the hurricane, through most of the Labor Day weekend, the hurricane was the lead story around the world. I would estimate that the BBC World Service, which is beamed to countries around the world, spent some 75% of its time on Katrina coverage during the weekend.

People in countries around the fascinated by such questions as: Why is the richest country in the world having such a problem dealing with this hurricane? How can a First World country turn into a Third World country so quickly? Not surprisingly, a lot of the coverage focused on America's failure. A typical "man on the street" remark was, "Hurricane Katrina has destroyed part of U.S. arrogance."

Anti-American journalists and politicians have been having a field day of wishful thinking . According to an article on an international Marxist web site:

"Now Katrina, a non-economic, non-political, non-social, non-military disaster will have vast economic, political, social, and military consequences. This force of nature has only just begun to send the whole decrepit system of U.S. capitalism reeling. ... Never has the ruling class’ contempt for human need been more clearly exposed. Now more than ever, we must end this brutal, decaying system once and for all. Only the final overthrow of the rotten profit system can lay the basis for a true flowering of human society. Another world is possible: join us in the struggle for a better world!"

As amusing as all this wishful thinking is, there's no doubt that massive bureaucrative failures at all levels of government have occurred. As one television talking head pointed out, a lot of the management systems were paper systems set up in the 1950s, right after World War II. Today, they're sadly out of ate.

From the point of view of Generational Dynamics, this bureaucratic ossification is typical of the country as a whole. The 1930s Great Depression put most businesses into bankruptcy, and forced other businesses to lay off people to survive. The same was true of government agencies, educational institutions, labor unions, and other organizations. The new organizations that sprang up were "lean and mean," but over the years they've become increasingly inefficient, encrusted with a bureaucracy of people set in their ways, protective of their turf, and only interested in preserving their pensions.

It will take a new Great Depression and a massive new war to renew all of America's organizations again, and Generational Dynamics predicts that all that will happen.

That's why the Hurricane Katrina might possibly be a blessing in disguise for the country as a whole. If this catastrophe forces changes at all levels of government, and guarantees that one person will be in charge of the entire effort the next time a disaster happens, then many lives will be saved. (13-Sep-05) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 13-Sep-05 The world is shocked at America's bureaucratic fumbling over Hurricane Katrina

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 13-Sep-05
The world is shocked at America's bureaucratic fumbling over Hurricane Katrina