Since Hurricane Gustav tore through southeast Louisiana, the  FEMA and the Louisiana Department of Social Services has started a emergency food stamp program to help people affected by the storm. The federal government approved emergency food stamps for 43 parishes because of the two hurricanes. A resident has to live in one of the affected parishes and meet the income limits to qualify to receive benefits. They must also have had either have a loss of food, damage to home or loss of income because of the storm.    If an individual qualified, they were given $162 on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card that could be used to recoup lost food from the power outages. Families with more people could receive more benefits. But this money has to be spent within 90 days of receipt. Although the distribution of emergency food stamps seems like a rather simple thing to handle, the state DSS still managed to screw it up. About 22,000 food stamp recipients were overpaid in Louisiana the DSS said last week. In some cases recipients received double what they were supposed to receive; others received even more. The overpayment was blamed on “computer program error,” according to the state DSS office.The mismanagement of the food stamp program and the shelter program created a great deal of criticism against the DSS and State Secretary of Social Services Ann Silverberg Williamson. Williamson, one of a few cabinet hold overs from the Blanco administration, received criticism from both the public and Gov. Bobby Jindal.Although she has not admitted it, many in the media believed her resignation on Sept. 15 was because of the criticism she received. Jindal welcomed the resignation and was quick to appoint Kristy Nichols as the interim director. As of last Thursday, the DSS stated they want the extra food stamps back even if a recipient has already spent them. Nichols said in a Thursday press conference that they will work with JP Morgan, the company that deals with the EBT cards, to get letters sent out to those who received overpayment asking for the money back. DSS has also been working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to see what the consequences will be if individuals don’t pay back the overpayment. Over the weekend the DSS closed several of the sites because of scheduling conflicts and because operating agreements are coming to an end. Nichols said the number of applicants going to the centers has dwindled in the last few days. The disaster benefit period for Gustav ends on Sept. 28. Slow government response is anticipated when there are natural disasters, and the process can be chaotic. But should it be expected? Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a government that worked better? What if, for once, response time wasn’t slow? What if we didn’t have to wait in long lines to get the things we need after a storm? The fact that the government has such a hard time handling natural disasters and the slow recovery after them makes me very hesitant to want to allow them any more control. One only has to go back and look at the aftermath of Katrina to see government waste and mismanagement in full force. The U. S. House Committee on Government Reform did a special investigation in August 2006 into the waste, fraud and abuse of contracts dealing with Hurricane Katrina. Contracts weren’t competitive; contracts were mismanaged and there was absolutely no oversight. If the government can’t be trusted to efficiently and effectively put blue tarps on our roofs after a hurricane, what makes us think they could be trusted to efficiently and effectively give us the heart surgery we need?What makes us so sure that they can handle the housing market or the banking business? I’m not saying the private sector and free markets are the best thing either. Its pretty plain to see that bad decisions and no responsibility for those decisions can lead to some pretty bad results in the private sector. What I am saying is that I don’t think we should be so quick to just let the government take over a certain business or sector of our daily lives. I think that we should think long and hard before we allow these things to happen. Although hurricanes are terrible tragedies that destroy lives and property, they do give us a chance to examine our souls and our government. —-Contact Matthew Gravens at [email protected]