Is the half-century rise because we have more problems? Hmm -- just coincidentally, of course, disaster declarations peak in presidential election years. Two researchers, Mary W. Downton of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Roger A. Pielke Jr. of the University of Colorado, Boulder, took into account the amount of precipitation each year as they examined flood-related disasters from 1965 to 1997. They found that the average number of flood-related disasters declared by presidents in election years was 46 percent higher than it should have been.

Two other researchers, Thomas A. Garrett and Russell S. Sobel, concluded that Congressional as well as presidential politics have an effect on disaster declarations. Controlling statistically for the damage caused by storms, they found a correlation between disaster-relief dollars and the number of representatives a state has on the major FEMA oversight committees in the House of Representatives. Overall, one-third of FEMA payments seemed directly attributable to representation on Congressional oversight committees, regardless of a disaster's severity.

What happens when we look to the feds rather than emphasizing family, community, local and state help? Even when payments aren't fraudulent, we have not only budget-busting but amplification of the already-existing tendency of Americans to become subjects rather than citizens, dependently waiting for federal money rather than independently acting -- and that leads to an atrophy of community muscles. People ask what this country can do for them, instead of what they can do for themselves and for their neighbors.

There is a better way: Church, community, local and state groups should take the lead in disaster relief -- and many did so following Katrina. The feds (apart from military rescue operations) should only be involved as a very last resort. But you won't hear that on the media specials.