A while back, this is what he said about FEMA:
At a Republican primary debate in June of 2011, CNN’s John King asked Mitt Romney for his views on disaster relief. “FEMA is about to run out of money, and there are some people who say, ‘Do it on a case-by-case basis.’ And there are some people who say, ‘You know what, maybe we’re learning a lesson here that the states should take on more of this role.’ How do you deal with something like that?”Of course now after we all saw how instrumental FEMA was in helping the states affected by Sandy, he has something else to say:
Mr. Romney responded ““Absolutely. Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better.”
Naturally Hurricane Sandy Mitt feels somewhat differently. His campaign released a statement Wednesday that reads: “”I believe that FEMA plays a key role in working with states and localities to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. As president, I will ensure FEMA has the funding it needs to fulfill its mission, while directing maximum resources to the first responders who work tirelessly to help those in need, because states and localities are in the best position to get aid to the individuals and communities affected by natural disasters.”http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/...-then-and-now/
Naturally Mr. Romney didn’t acknowledge that he’d changed his position; he just changed it. As usual there’s no telling which position represents Mr. Romney’s authentic beliefs, or if he has authentic beliefs—or, most crucially, which position a President Romney would hold.
But this raises an interesting point, does anyone here agree with Mitwitt's original assertion that the states and the private sector can cover the up front and back end costs of emergency management and disaster relief? This includes the repair of roads, bridges, clean up of damage homes, repair of damaged caused by trees and other debris, lost power, lost utilities, etc etc.
