Speaker: Joplin handled tornado recovery right; Tuscaloosa didn't

The city of Joplin handled tornado recovery the right way; Tuscaloosa didn't.

That was the message delivered by Dr. Daniel J. Smith, a Troy University professor who researched the recovery of both communities, as part of the Future of Freedom Foundation Economic Liberty Lecture Series Monday in Fairfax, Va.

Smith praised the response of churches, charities, and business in both communities, but credited city leaders in Joplin for getting out of the way and not micromanaging business owners as they worked to rebuild their stores.

Smith noted that while Joplin had 69 percent of its businesses either reopened or open temporarily in a different location, Tuscaloosa's number was at 15 percent.

Joplin did not "micromanage the recovery process," Smith said.

A Tale of Two Disaster-Stricken Communities: Joplin and Tuscaloosa by Daniel J. Smith from The Future of Freedom Foundation on Vimeo.