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Comment by kunwon1 | Hacker News Reader

I have read that the governor of the state isn't requesting much in the way of federal assistance, and hasn't yet declared a state of emergency, which may or may not be a prerequisite for such federal action.

That being said, it seems to me that the entire situation is being used as a political football, which makes things murky. What everyone seems to agree on is that the residents on the ground are not getting the assistance they need.

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"Hasn't yet"? You do realize that things have completely dispersed at this point and the very transient burn was weeks ago right? The event is long over.

What types of assistance would require action at a federal scale? it seems like a pretty manageable problem at the state level.

It seems like there is a huge outcry that "something must be done" without really examining what that something would be or reviewing what is already being done.

Do people have shelter or need it ?

Do people have access to medical care or need more?

Are safety tests being conducted or not?

Are cleanup plans progressing or being neglected?

Money. Most states have very little funding for emergency recovery, so it's routine to use a federal emergency declaration to authorize federal funding. In general with civil emergencies, the state has the authority but the feds have the money.

How much money and to do what?

Temporary housing for the residents most directly in harms way. Low interest loans for people needing to relocate permanently.

Both can help people avoid long term health consequences if this is as dangerous as some observers claim.

The Ohio state budget is 24 Billion dollars. I think they could come up with a million dollars or two to cover housing and transportation for those that want it. We are talking about a small number of people here. If every family wanted to stay away, they could give $10,000 to each for with 0.1% of the state budget.

I would assume most of those funds ($24B) are already allocated to various programs. The US Federal government OTOH has departments and funds set aside for such larger scale unexpected disasters. Let's also not forget the infinite money printer.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-explains-why-tu...

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