The collision of the culture of dependence and ineffectual state and local government.

Katrina exposed America's harmful culture of dependence
Ken Gorrell, The Union Leader Original Article

WHAT IS a culture of dependence? It is generation after generation of families existing on direct government financial support and sapped of ambition to take care of their own immediate needs or prepare themselves for a better future. For those trapped in this dysfunctional culture, the normal cost-benefit equations of life don't apply. The government safety net becomes a smothering blanket, insulating citizens from the consequences of their actions while reinforcing the poisonous idea that the problems they create for themselves should become someone else's problem to solve.