The article contends New Orleans’s levee failures and chaotic relief stemmed from corrupt, patronage‑ridden local institutions and unclear state/city authority, not 'systemic racism.' It says cultural narratives (e.g., Spike Lee’s film, Kanye West’s remarks) shifted blame away from levee boards and state/local disaster duties despite Army Corps warnings. Misdiagnosis entrenched institutional decay by avoiding the actors and incentives that actually failed.
— Treating disasters as governance problems rather than identity morality plays redirects reform toward accountability, federalism clarity, and infrastructure stewardship.
Nicole Gelinas
2025.08.29
92% relevant
The piece highlights state and city missteps (Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Mayor Ray Nagin) in evacuation and Guard pre‑positioning and notes Times‑Picayune’s finding that lurid Superdome/Convention Center crime claims from local leaders were mostly false, shifting blame from 'systemic racism' to governance failure and narrative misdiagnosis.
Tyler Cowen
2025.08.28
78% relevant
The article echoes that New Orleans’ problems were governance and execution—federal dollars routed through clashing state/local agencies with vague metrics and little accountability, and nearly $1B to ICF to administer the Road Home program—rather than a lack of money.
B. Duncan Moench
2025.08.26
100% relevant
Cites that 'city and state governments bear primary responsibility for local disaster planning,' criticizes New Orleans levee boards as 'notoriously corrupt,' and names Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke and Kanye West’s 'Bush doesn’t care' line as misdirecting blame.