Country unprepared for disasters

By Paige Ramsey

Most American has been under the impression that the government should be taking care of them after a disaster. According to the End of American Dream website article "55 Percent Of Americans Believe That The Government Will Take Care Of Them If Disaster Strikes," by Michael Snyder,

"44 percent of all Americans do not have first-aid kits in their homes. 48 percent of all Americans do not have any emergency supplies stored up. 53 percent of all Americans do not have a 3 day supply of nonperishable food and water in their homes. Essentially, what we have got is about half the country that is completely and totally unprepared. About half the nation is sitting back and relying on the government to make all of the preparations"(Snyder, 2012).

Steps that public managers can take to convince people of the importance of being prepared for an emergency as an individual and family are that they can show that the government is not in a position to help all the time by bring up examples of Hurricane Katrina. If that doesn’t work then another step would be to have emergency preparedness fairs etc. Honestly though if someone believes the government will help them without putting forth any effort then they themselves need to make the change and public officials can only do so much.

Families and businesses can start to prepare themselves for disaster by starting 72-hour kits, making sure that their homes and cars have etc. food and water. Also businesses can have an emergency plan and places to shelter if necessary. Also making sure that they have the right insurance coverage is a good way to prepare for disasters.

Snyder, M. (2012, July 22). 55 Percent Of Americans Believe That The Government Will Take Care Of Them If Disaster Strikes. End Of The American Dream. Retrieved October 21, 2014, from http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/55-percent-of-americans-believe-that-the-government-will-take-care-of-them-if-disaster-strikes