Let’s talk about disaster relief. And let’s start this way: If my waterfront home in Tampa floods in a hurricane, should the federal government help me repair it?

Although I think it is fair to discuss the appropriate roles of the federal versus state governments, private insurance, and the personal responsibilities of property owners, I don’t think it’s breaking any new ground to suggest that a majority of people would probably say “yes.” Indeed, one of the arguments for a national, federal government is for us, collectively, to have the ability to respond to natural disasters that might be too big for the market, cities or states to address.

But what if I build it back, and it floods again the following summer. How do you feel now about writing me a debt-funded government check? How many years in a row would you be willing to pay for me to have a luxurious home with a beautiful ocean view in such an unfortunate location? Would you feel differently if I did it five times? Because at least 45,000 people in this country have done precisely that.

And five is nothing. There is a house in Houston that has been rebuilt at taxpayer expense 16 times.

As California tries to crawl out from under the ash of the Palisades and other fires,........

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