The American Way

As free people and citizens of this great nation, maybe it is time we ask ourselves whether it should be the government’s role to provide disaster relief

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Photo by Wes Warren on Unsplash

I first heard about U.S. President Grover Cleveland and his famous veto of the Texas Seed Bill from Lawrence Reed, president of the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEE) and someone I admire greatly.

While President Cleveland was a Democrat, his political beliefs were more aligned with classic liberalism, a stance that would likely not win him the nomination from today’s Democratic Party. To delve deeper into his unique political stance, you can read my review of his biography here.

Cleveland's belief in a limited government as the best guarantee for Americans' liberty and prosperity was unwavering. He demonstrated this by never hesitating to veto legislation that he believed exceeded the Constitution's limits, even if these bills were supported by his party or popular with the general public. 

One of Cleveland's most impactful decisions was his veto of the Texas Seed Bill in 1887. This bill aimed to allocate $10,000 for the federal government to purchase seed grain and distribute it to Texas farmers affected by drought. His veto, though controversial, underscored his commitment to the roles of government set by U.S. Constitution. 

In his veto message, Cleveland wrote:

"I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution; and I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit...the friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied on to relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune.”

On the surface, Cleveland was quite cold-hearted. As the President of the United States of America, shouldn’t it be his responsibility to use federal resources to care for Americans suffering from a natural disaster? Some people at the time were very critical of Cleveland’s veto. But Cleveland stood his ground because he understood that the American experiment that the founding fathers endowed the American people was to restrict government power in the form of a limited government so the American people could live as free as possible.  With freedom comes the responsibility to care for our fellow citizens in need on our own initiative. That is the American way.

I have been thinking about Cleveland’s veto as I was watching Hurricane Milton touch down in Florida, already leaving 5 people dead and more than 3 million homes without power. Milton arrived less than a month after Hurricane Helene swept through six states, including Florida, in the Southeastern U.S. More than 100 Americans were dead, and many communities in North Carolina were cut off from the rest of the country due to a devastating flood.

Numerous complaints have been made about the Biden–Harris administration, particularly the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), failing to provide timely and adequate assistance to Americans affected by hurricanes. As I’ve come to understand, the criticism and complaints are not baseless (see here, here, and here). The Biden-Harris administration, especially FEMA, needs to be held accountable for its poor performance, a far cry from Grover Cleveland’s constitution-based reasoning.

Let’s be honest; the Biden–Harris administration is the most incompetent and wasteful administration I have ever witnessed in the last twenty years as an immigrant (see examples here, here, and here). But remember how FEMA handled the relief effort poorly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 under the George W. Bush administration? Different administrations but the same poor performance. As you read this, consider what this says about FEMA and the government’s role in disaster relief.

While FEMA has once again fallen short, the impact of private citizens’ contributions is undeniable.

Exhibit A: Greg Biffle, a semi-retired race driver, is a prime example. He’s taking it upon himself to deliver clothes, food, and fuel to people in mountain communities in North Carolina, who have been trapped and isolated since Hurricane Helene struck.

Exhibit B: SpaceX engineer Mike Coryell and his co-workers have deployed over 1,000 Starlink kits in hard-hit Appalachia communities, “with each deployment enabling 10x more people to communicate.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Starlink’s boss, Elon Musk, said, “Starlink will provide temporary free satellite service in affected areas. He’s doing so even though the FCC last December yanked an $885 million grant for Starlink to furnish high-speed internet to 640,000 rural homes and businesses—including in the very counties where FEMA is now deploying Starlink’s satellites.”

Exhibit C: More than 1,000 volunteers from Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian charitable organization, delivered necessities and helped families clean their houses from mud and water across the Asheville area on Saturday, Oct. 5th.

These examples inspired me to post this on X.com: “This is the American way: we help each other, rather than wait for the incompetent government to do something.” Our founding fathers intended Americans to rely on the friendliness and charity of fellow citizens rather than the government.

There is a saying that we get the government we deserve. For too long, too many of us voted for politicians who pandered our insecurity and promised to take care of our needs. Once in office, the politicians then claim that they must expand the government, establish more agencies, and collect more taxes to fulfill their promises.

The politicians have achieved their goals: an ever-growing government, bureaucracy, and higher taxes. However, when a disaster struck, we turned to the government for help, only to find it unable to fulfill its promises. This betrayal rightfully angered us. Yet, when the next election arrived, we were swayed by another politician's promises. This repetitive cycle of disappointment and unfulfilled promises is a clear sign that we need to change how we select political leaders. We must return to the limits on government that our Constitution sets in order to break this cycle.

1981 President Ronald Reagan reminded us in his inaugural address: “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”  As free people and citizens of this great nation, maybe it is time we ask ourselves whether it should be the government’s role to provide disaster relief. Rather than demand that the government do something each time a disaster hits and then be disappointed in government officials’ chronic incompetency and inefficiency, we should demand that useless agencies such as FEMA be eliminated and our taxes lowered. Hence, we get to keep more resources to help each other in need. A limited government, individual liberty, and responsibility is the American way.  

Last but not least, I encourage all my readers to do whatever they can to offer our fellow Americans affected by the Hurricane a helping hand. If you are one of those Americans, please stay safe and let us know what we can do to help. God bless!