[Hoot Gibson]

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the federal government have more money than each individual state? Isn't that why you apply for disaster relief? IMO, if it were left up to each state to organize their own relief efforts, you would think it would not have the monies budgeted for such an expense and even if it did, that is more money taken away from state programs and universities.

I think that we all agree that FEMA is broken and hopefully one day they correct the issues because on paper, FEMA has the necessary tools to really make a difference.

OK, you are wrong. Most states are required by law to balance their budgets, so none are deep in debt. The federal government ran a record deficit of $229 billion in February alone, which was a record 41st consecutive month of deficits. (The previous record was 11 months.) Fiscal Year 2012 will be the fourth straight $trillion+ federal deficit under Obama and as long as he is in the White House, there is no relief in sight. Every state in the country has more money or a smaller deficit than the federal government.

Like Beetle said, the states are not currently set up to take on FEMA's responsibilities immediately but could do so with a little time, but if the federal government has any legitimate role to play in natural disasters, it should be very limited.

(Sorry to pile on. I should have caught up on my reading before posting. I thought that I would be the first to correct your impression that Washington has more money than any individual state but I was too slow on the draw.)