It’s been almost eight months since Superstorm Sandy blew Benghazi off the national front pages and Obama rushed to the rescue with buckets of federal aid. Not that FEMA and millions of dollars accomplished much of anything. But it sure made for great optics.
 
 
Of course, once the storm had served its purpose; photo-ops with an adoring Republican governor to help boost the president’s reelection chances, the network news gang moved on to the next drive-by story – nothing more to see in New Jersey.
 
Thanks to the msm agenda-driven news coverage, the majority of Americans continue to believe that any recovery-to-date has only been possible due to the benevolence of our big nanny government.
 
Yet if you ask those who lived through the storm, you’d learn differently; Friends, neighbors were more helpful than government after Sandy, poll finds. From NJ.com ~

A poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that after the storm in New York and New Jersey, friends, relatives and neighbors were cited the most often as the people who helped them make it through.
 
People overwhelmingly said the Oct. 29 storm brought out the best in their neighbors, who shared generators, food, water and other supplies. Far fewer said they found help from federal or state governments.

Not surprisingly ~

The data showed that neighborhoods lacking in social cohesion and trust generally had a more difficult time recovering. People in slowly recovering neighborhoods reported greater levels of hoarding of food and water, looting, stealing, and vandalism, compared with neighborhoods that recovered more quickly.

As I wrote back in November ~

“Government efficiency” is an oxymoron. The federal government is simply too bloated, and bogged down in endless rules and regulations, to respond quickly and effectively when a natural disaster strikes. They churn through millions – billions – of dollars, yet more often than not just make things worse.
 

 
Maybe they should get out of the emergency relief business altogether and let local governments, competent charitable organizations – and motorcycle gangs – handle things.
 
After all, it’s still that uniquely American spirit that spurs individuals to lend a hand to a neighbor in need.

Related:
Our inefficient, overly-generous-with-taxpayer’s-money, too-large government managed to turn Sandy into another opportunity to waste billions ~ Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill: Wasteful Spending Not Helpful ~

Not only does this act add ($50 billion!) to the deficit, but it is also reflects another symptom of government growth: over-federalization of natural disasters. In less than two years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued a stunning 353 disaster declarations—despite the absence of major hurricanes or earthquakes (except Hurricanes Irene and Sandy). This high operational tempo keeps FEMA in a perpetual response mode, leaving little time and few resources to prepare to handle a real catastrophic disaster, such as Hurricane Sandy.