The first week after Katrina, a Frenchwoman in New Orleans was interviewed on Radio France Info. She emphasized that even though the destruction was terrible and some of the behavior was bad, on the whole most people in the affected areas were reacting well and that there had been an outpouring of volonteer aid to help the refugees. "But I also find it scandaleux, all these volunteers working for free," she said. "The government should be doing it and paying decent salaries."
That reminded me of a big, successful French telethon a while back for some charity—I believe for muscular dystrophy. A young woman with the disease was interviewed on the radio right afterwards. She was outraged about the telethon. There should be no place for private charity—the government should take care of it.
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