By Selwyn Duke

Living near the coast in the Northeast, I see the devastation wrought
by Hurricane Sandy firsthand. Many have been without power for days;
there are long lines at gas stations; some supermarket shelves are bare;
and, more to the point here, some in vulnerable areas lost their homes.
And because the storm is such a horrible, high-profile disaster,
government aid to rebuild is in the offing. But should it be?

This question may seem heartless. And, don't worry, you won't hear a
politician asking it anytime soon, as doing so might very well cost him
the next election. But political expediency isn’t always synonymous with
fairness.

Let’s start like this: On the day Sandy struck and every day since,
there surely have been low-profile disasters in other parts of the
country. Perhaps someone’s home was struck by lightning and burned down,
maybe an anomalous and isolated flood destroyed a lonely hinterland
abode, or it could have been something else. This is a big country and
many things happen.

And the question is, if you suffer such a disaster and have no
insurance, will Uncle Sam ride to the rescue with tax dollars? We know
the answer. But why the different treatment?

Read the rest here.