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I am not familiar with the specifics of the political/legal situation. Based on Wikipedia, it sounds like Executive Agencies such as FEMA treat Puerto Rico as

I am not familiar with the specifics of the political/legal situation. Based on Wikipedia, it sounds like Executive Agencies such as FEMA treat Puerto Rico as they would a state, to the extinct possible. FEMA is not responsible for every aspect of emergency response in a state. Puerto Rico even has their own National Guard, which is under the command of the governor, and traditionally bears much of the burden for the footwork in disaster response situations (supplementing the permanent resources). FEMA then provides aid to support local agencies in the immediate aftermath and then funding for recovery efforts. (FEMA also provides resources to support local emergency preparedness efforts, but it is a bit late for that now). I may be wrong, I am certainly no expert, but this is what I have learned from reading about it and what I have observed from other disasters and come to expect of the ways things generally work in the US. FEMA has been accused of negligence and incompetence as far back as I can remember, under presidents of both parties- usually the loudest by those of the party opposite the current president. Are there specific accusations of things FEMA isn't doing that they have done in other areas that would help in PR?

mikeash 9y ago
They may treat PR like a state to some extent, but it isn't one. The Feds have far more power and discretion there than they would in, say, Texas. I don't have specifics about what they should be doing that they aren't. I just know that the outcome so far looks pretty bad, and the guy who's ultimately in charge of all of this stuff is spending a lot of time golfing and whining about football while it's happening, and his supporters don't seem to be willing to acknowledge that responsibility ultimately flows up to him.
- ensignavenger 9y ago
  I am not a Trump supporter, I am just asking for proof that responsibility (for this mess) ultimately flows up to him. The same statements were made by Obama detractors after every major disaster, how is this any different?
  - mikeash 9y ago
    The proof is: Trump is in charge of the government that is handling relief. Responsibility is his by definition. In the past, we understood and celebrated the fact that the man at the top was the final word on this sort of thing: https://www.trumanlibrary.org/buckstop.htm https://www.trumanlibrary.org/buckstop.htm Puerto Rico is a bit different because there's no sovereign state government with local responsibility. In a state, the Feds can help out, but the state government is a separate entity with jurisdiction and responsibility for most of what's going on. In a territory, the federal government is all there is. There is a territorial government, but that is just a part of the federal government. But it's not very different. If people blamed Obama for FEMA's failures while he was in office, that would be completely justified. The main difference I'm harping on here is that Trump and his defenders insist on deflecting the blame and saying "it's not my fault." When Obama responded to a natural disaster, did he ever say he was doing a great job and all the problems were due to corrupt local officials and crippling debt? I don't recall that ever coming from him, or from any other President from either party.

mikeash 9y ago

They may treat PR like a state to some extent, but it isn't one. The Feds have far more power and discretion there than they would in, say, Texas. I don't have specifics about what they should be doing that they aren't. I just know that the outcome so far looks pretty bad, and the guy who's ultimately in charge of all of this stuff is spending a lot of time golfing and whining about football while it's happening, and his supporters don't seem to be willing to acknowledge that responsibility ultimately flows up to him.

ensignavenger 9y ago
I am not a Trump supporter, I am just asking for proof that responsibility (for this mess) ultimately flows up to him. The same statements were made by Obama detractors after every major disaster, how is this any different?
- mikeash 9y ago
  The proof is: Trump is in charge of the government that is handling relief. Responsibility is his by definition. In the past, we understood and celebrated the fact that the man at the top was the final word on this sort of thing: https://www.trumanlibrary.org/buckstop.htm https://www.trumanlibrary.org/buckstop.htm Puerto Rico is a bit different because there's no sovereign state government with local responsibility. In a state, the Feds can help out, but the state government is a separate entity with jurisdiction and responsibility for most of what's going on. In a territory, the federal government is all there is. There is a territorial government, but that is just a part of the federal government. But it's not very different. If people blamed Obama for FEMA's failures while he was in office, that would be completely justified. The main difference I'm harping on here is that Trump and his defenders insist on deflecting the blame and saying "it's not my fault." When Obama responded to a natural disaster, did he ever say he was doing a great job and all the problems were due to corrupt local officials and crippling debt? I don't recall that ever coming from him, or from any other President from either party.