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Well for one, I could have sworn these were United States and one country. State rights makes it so they don't operate that way and the Federal Government of th
by mhurron 13y ago
Well for one, I could have sworn these were United States and one country. State rights makes it so they don't operate that way and the Federal Government of the people, by the people and for the people can't help the people without a request from another source in the same way they would offer aid to a foreign nation.
This of course never leads to governments using this to play politics to be able to blame the Federal Government to make themselves look better, or the Federal Government look bad. No that would never happen.
- angersock 13y agoDo tell, how much does the average person in Austin, Texas have in common with somebody in Salt Lake City, Utah? How much do those people have in common with the average person in Oakland? States rights make it so that each state can dictate policy best suited and tuned for its own population--and so that it can be held more directly responsible by its populace.
- mhurron 13y agoIf you pull your head out of your ass, you'll see Americans aren't all that different and they need all the same aid as each other in a disaster. Hell, American's aren't all that different than Canadians, but apparently you believe people are different species because they live one one side of an imaginary line or another. The federal government isn't going to be dictating people in Austin all wear winter coats because it gets cold in Jeuno. But they are hindered in their ability to render aid to the very people they govern because each state acts like its own little country.
- chillzilla 13y agoOne thing they have in common is they all use water.
- anigbrowl 13y agoAs I happen to live in Oakland, I consider myself to have a great deal in common with people in the other places you mention. Sure, I have quite different political and religious views from the stereotypical resident of those places, but what we have in common outweighs that by far - about the same physical needs, vulnerabilities, degree of caring about family members etc. In any kind of disaster situation the basic needs of food, shelter, warmth, medical care, communications and so on vary little.
- moocowduckquack 13y agoDo tell, how much does the average person in Austin, Texas have in common with somebody in Salt Lake City, Utah? How much do those people have in common with the average person in Oakland? Well, they have a very similar need for clean water and unless chemistry varies wildly across state lines, some sort of coordinated response would seem sensible.
- mud_dauber 13y agoNot to mention that the chemicals could flow downstream into a larger water system. In this case the Ohio River. Multi-state hairball.
- _delirium 13y agoAustin's population generally do see themselves as having a lot in common with other major urban areas, like San Francisco or Boston. Austonians by and large do not like the policies that the state they happen to be ensconced within enacts. Texas is generally right-leaning, but Austin is pretty liberal, and would choose very different policies if they had the power to do so. That indicates one issue with splitting political power into states: most American political differences are urban/suburban/rural, not regional. Austonians and San Franciscans have more in common with each other than they do with other areas of their own states, and California's Central Valley would get along fine with West Texas. But SF and the Central Valley don't get along, and West Texas and Austin don't get along.
- sp332 13y agoThat's because they are United States who will offer each other aid, but also maintain some sovereignty.