Lessons Learned? Federal Response Post-Katrina

"FEMA is a four-letter word," --critique from residents of New Orleans six years ago.

Was the response of all levels of government this past weekend to Hurricane Irene an examples of lessons learned? CNN reports, "Six years after "Katrina" became shorthand for a botched response to a crisis, authorities at all levels of government are winning praise for their handling of Hurricane Irene."

You will write a formal essay analyzing federalism in response to Hurricane Katrina and the BP Oil Spill in the next unit, so it is probably helpful to take a systems approach to the response of government (local, state and national authorities) in a federal system in real time.

Did the government (s) work better this time, or was Irene just not as mean as Katrina. Irene death toll: 40-ish; Katrina: 1,700.

Will FEMA's budget get cut?