In the wake of Hurricane Irma

Big government to the rescue

The early response to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma has been encouraging. People around the country have offered their support. And, so far at least, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has not looked as inept as it did after Katrina in 2005.

This is a good thing, because people suffering in Texas and Florida could use all the help they can get. And maybe, just maybe, the relief effort might help change some of this nation’s caustic political debate, which is often driven by petty partisan or regional fights, and refocus it on actual problems to solve.

Texas and Florida happen to be low-tax, low-regulation states with histories of resisting Washington. In 2012, when Superstorm Sandy ravaged the Northeast, Republicans from the two states overwhelmingly voted against a relief package. Now they are looking for federal assistance, the price of which will be inflated by state and local policies.

The federal tab for Harvey, for instance, will be greatly increased by Houston’s inadequate system for dealing with storm water runoff. And Florida’s decision to get into the homeowners insurance business makes it a federal bailout waiting to happen.

People generally don’t mind extending a helping hand to their fellow Americans. Just one request for the recipients: Give the bureaucrat bashing and anti-government rhetoric a rest.

CARIBBEAN BUZZ HELICOPTERS VIA AP Aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Virgin Gorda, the British Virgin Islands, on Friday.