There’s a reason Mitt Romney keeps dodging questions about how he wanted to defund FEMA. Most Americans aren’t crazy about the idea of handing over disaster relief to the states. And they’re even less keen on farming it out to private business. And yet, in a Thursday Forbes Op-Ed, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Iain Murray argued we’ve got it all wrong: Rather than showing “the need for big government,” Murray says that “disaster relief provides an excellent example of how the invisible hand of the market works to alleviate suffering and bring quick relief to those in need.”
That sure doesn’t sound right. But is it?
Short answer: Nope. My full interview with disaster historian Jacob Remes.
Josh Eidelson 