And they really should, but on the other hand, as a population they pay enough in taxes to the federal government that it's not ridiculous for them to ask for s

And they really should, but on the other hand, as a population they pay enough in taxes to the federal government that it's not ridiculous for them to ask for some federal assistance with something like that. (it's also not ridiculous for a major cultural landmark like New Orleans, but that's a more complicated argument)