I concur that volunteers can often act more quickly than government agencies. This is why government agencies often partner with NGOs (or at least they did before DOGE). But that isn’t a replacement for the size and scale that government relief can offer. I’m delighted that the Amish built 12 tiny houses and that a few miners slapped together a temporary road; that isn’t sufficient on any realistic level. I’m all for volunteerism; I spend substantial sums of my own time on volunteer endeavors. But let’s put aside the fantasy that volunteers are enough in such vast disasters. They aren’t.
And after months of hearing about USG waste, fraud and abuse, one would think that connections would be made. One of the reasons government agencies often can’t respond quickly beyond the most basic of assistance is that everything must be vetted to avoid fraud and abuse. And that slows down everything, including relief and rebuilding. It is maddening. But here we are.