Question Earthority!

“Earthquakes and hurricanes tend to invite two cliches — that nature hits the poor hardest, and that the government is incapable of performing its basic functions. Like most cliches, these contain an element of truth. They have now re-emerged in Peru in the wake of the Aug. 15 earthquake that killed more than 500 people, injured more than 1,000 and left more than 100,000 homeless. Rebuilding alone will cost between 0.5 percent and 1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. As in other natural catastrophes around the world, self-help efforts on the part of the population, along with private-sector and foreign assistance, have made up for the failure of governments — national, regional and local — to respond effectively.” (08/29/07)