The recent hurricane that blasted the northeast brought out the best in people as neighbors helped neighbors.
First there was the “bagel” incident. A baker in New York wanted to help feed displaced people in shelters. He prepared large amounts of extra bagels but was not allowed to deliver them. It seems that “somebody” in New York deemed the bagels to be unhealthy (salt, fat, etc.). So hungry people were denied bagels for health reasons. Really?
And then there were the public service crews that traveled from the southwest to help restore power to all the residents of New York and New Jersey. They were told to go home because they were “non-union crews”. So as of this date (2-weeks), there are still thousands without power. I understand the union protecting the brotherhood, but come on. So some residents are still shivering in the cold.
Finally, with all the marvelous electronic communication we have these days including satelite, people were able to exchange lots of information during the crisis. Craig’s List connects willing buyers and willing sellers. There were sellers in the northeast that had pumps and portable electrical generators. They posted them on Craig’s list and in some cases asked for rather high prices. There were buyers that were willing to pay almost any price because their flooded basements or power outages were so dire. Nope, our government stepped in and denied the sales. There is some national law that kicks in after a disaster that prevents people from making more than 10% premium on items. I guess I can understand protecting poor people from predators but with Craig’s list we are talking “willing sellers” and willing buyers”. Is this a great country or what?
Somehow we keep losing our “common sense”. Let people do extra-ordinary things as they always do in a disaster.
Love,
Dad