All disasters are local, or so many politicians proclaim. Yet 29 states send their tax money to FEMA only to end up footing the disaster-response bill for the other 21. Not only is this incredibly unfair, it also breeds inefficiency, explains Heritage homeland security expert Matt Mayer. Instead of nationalizing disaster management, states should keep their FEMA taxes—and fund and manage their own local disasters. Mayer explains how to amend the Stafford Act to make this happen.