Charities Simply Incapable of Effective Response to Large-Scale Disasters

Facing South refers us to a GAO report that finds that private charities lack an adequate number of volunteers, sufficient financial resources, and the necessary shelter space to provide dependable relief without government disaster response.  Donations to private organizations are down with the weak economy and some disaster relief charities are taking on debt and cutting staff to serve communities in crisis.  Conservatives who once had the luxury of a stronger economy (or at least the illusion of a stronger economy masking our expanding debt to other countries) to prompt the argument that charities could replace adequate government emergency management and disaster relief no longer have that leg to stand on.  We better start working on reforming government agencies so that they respond effectively rather than continuing to misplace faith in the non-profit sector alone.