There is an article here about privatization of disaster relief.

"Private industry is the only way to go," said Joe Spraggins, emergency management chief for a Mississippi county hit hard by Katrina.

Spraggins, of Harrison County, Miss., won't count so much on government for emergency supplies and other help this summer.

Instead, he'll count on the lure of the almighty buck by hiring private companies to be ready with food, water, gas and sanitary sewer supplies.

National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield sees the private industry boom as a good thing. "I'm so totally convinced that the government can't do this on its own," he said.

In fact, some veteran disaster officials say because private industry has the money and hires the experts, it's the future.

"It's all going to be private enterprise before it's over," said Billy Wagner, emergency management chief for the Florida Keys. "They've got the expertise. They've got the resources."

I'm reminded of something from 2000 years ago. This is the way they handled things in ancient Rome. The Fire Department would get word of a fire and race to the scene. Unlike the way we do it now, however, they stood and watched the blaze, just waiting for the owner to enlist their services. They would require exorbitant fees, and if they were not paid would simply turn around and leave.

This is how it ends up, when 'privatization' takes over what people should be doing for themselves because they know it is necessary, not for profit. When government does it, when money is lost because contractors charge too much, it's called waste. When private entities do it and charge too much, it's called free enterprise. This works because capitalism is assumed to be a basic part of the freedoms this country was supposedly built on, and it is unpatriotic to speak of anything contrary.