We have a federalist system, otherwise known as 'federalism', and in a federalist system, power is shared by written declaration (or a constitution in our case) between a central government (federal), and regional (state) or subdivisions of regional (county/city). All must consent to the other intruding upon their areas of control. In a federalist system, in many cases, it begins at the bottom and works up, but for issues only the federal can control - invasions, treaties, war.
If you do not like how our system works, changes to it will result in modifications that may give us a Thailand, Russia, China ... we cannot maintain our system and culture of government and change it.
In the event of an earthquake in California, the responsibility begins as follows. The process moving up the chain of need/responsibility will occur pretty quickly, but it begins first with - where was the earthquake. So we will say Los Angeles.
City government is primarily responsible, but, if it is too great for the city, the county gets involved. Quickly the county would call for state intervention. That brings everyone from the police, fire department, to the national guard to bear on the event. It releases emergency funding from the state. Then responsibility moved from state to federal and it begins with FEMA and then moves to congressional/executive.
You should really all understand this because failure to understand this role is a failure to understand our system of government is not based on top down but bottom up. The mayor of Los Angeles MUST CALL the COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS who will contact the GOVERNOR who will call for federal aid - FEMA who will in conjunction with other federal offices (including legislative/executive) take action. The president cannot impose himself in the first minutes as that violates our Constitution. The president MUST WAIT to be called upon AND HE CANNOT BE CALLED UPON every time you have an emergency. Expecting that the executive or legislative branch intervene every time dismantles our system of government and installs a government you do not wish to have for it is closer to a state run totalitarian government than a democratic government.
The Civil War included the argument that state's had rights - the state has the right and OBLIGATION to serve its citizens. This is one issue that was considered in Dred Scott. The debate is quite old and we have generally agreed it is up to the state to respond to disasters FIRST before it moves up the ladder to federal offices.
Trust me - you do not want the federal government jumping in three minutes after the earthquake. Ironic - liberals are terrified of government intrusion into their lives yet want big government to tell everyone to leave them alone. You cannot have it both ways - let the government in and it doesn't leave entirely. It leaves behind its DNA and the next time, more DNA, until at some point, it reconstitutes itself in its entirety within the state and you have no choice.
For people who are petrified the government is listening and violating all the laws created by man over the last 100 years, it is odd they have faith that a law will get the government out when the emergency is finished. Ironic and odd.
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