TANSTAAFL

The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina is truly astounding. I have tried to stay away from the TV news coverage because I just find it so utterly depressing. I do, however, still read the newspaper and that is enough. There was a short article in the Post yesterday that caught my interest. The headline was, “U.S. Considers Aid Offers From Two Dozen Countries.” (Follow the link and scroll down to the second article for the full text.) According to some State Department spokesman, Condoleezza Rice has decided “no offer that can help alleviate the suffering of the people in the afflicted area will be refused.” The sad thing about it is that the word “considers” is used. The damage caused by this natural disaster is so great that this country will not be able to overcome it without help. The state of the world today, however, makes it so that offers can’t just be openly accepted. For example, Venezuela has offered humanitarian aid and fuel. Sounds good to me, but Venezuela apparently has a contentious relationship with the Bush administration. It would be a distressing thing to think that aid offers would be turned down because our current administration can’t get along with other countries. I realize of course that these offers probably don’t all come freely either. I’m sure that some of the offers are being made with the expectations of other favors from the US in the future. It just shows how messed up our world is today. I guess that Milton Friedman was right, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”