The problem with disaster relief, as I see it, is that it's never been written down what the government owes anyone. There's just an expectation that the government will come in and make things right on some level. That creates an enormous amount of uncertainty for everyone. As I've said before, my hope for this flood relief plan moving forward is that the government's expectations and obligations become codified.
The programs macrov lists are all codified programs. There are tremendous amounts of documentation on all of these government transfers. But as far as I know, there's nothing on disaster relief beyond a general acknowledgement that the government will do something. This current arrangement doesn't benefit anyone, since it leads to flood victims wondering what to expect from the government, property owners wondering what their own obligations are regarding mitigation as well as insurance, and an outspoken minority of others (at least I assume it's a minority) wondering why they're paying for flood relief, and leads to the government trying to walk a thin line between satisfying both sides. If it's all codified, there will still be objections, but at least then nobody can justifiably express surprise at the way the government handles it.
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