More Perspective


Again, I'm not trying to minimize the scope of the Southern California disaster, but it maybe it will offer yet another way to explain the scale of 2005's storms and federal flood.

Losses in California are being reported as over $1 billion dollars. Billion with a "b." That's not small change.

Losses due to Hurricane Katrina are, as of now, reported at $81 billion dollars, with the final figure possibly topping $100 billion. Hurricane Rita caused another $11 billion dollars in damage, Stan an additional $1 billion, and Wilma almost $30 billion. It's worth keeping those figures in mind, particularly if (or maybe I should say when) morons like Brian Williams imply or implicitly state that some sort of innate superiority (read: skin color) is responsible for the "rapid" recovery in California versus the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts.

Aside: surprisingly, CNN has a reasonably decent story comparing conditions in California and Louisiana that's worth a look, and here's a decent graphic from Pravda-Upon-Hudson.

And yet again I'll note that this is still the United States. No, I'm not in California or even near the West Coast, but a disaster affecting one part of the country affects ALL of the country. Interstate rivalries can be amusing, in a silly sort of way, and sure, there are cultural differences, but this is still a single country, despite wingnut attempts to rip everything to shreds...which happens to prove wingnut ignorance on so many levels it's damn near impossible to list them in a single blog post. So, hell yes, let's hope that the recovery in SoCal proceeds with all due speed and all appropriate focus. These are our fellow citizens who've been affected, and the government has a duty to respond.