Why can't the US take care of its own victims?

I think this is a very interesting article. Why does the US not have the money to pay for relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina? A big part of the reason certainly seems to be that the devestation was just so massive it would have been difficult to have that kind of money stowed away. But still, perhaps a small percentage of our budget to develop nuclear weapons would suffice? During the entire Bush presidency, spending has drastically gone up for the military in general, which accounts for almost half of our $1.2 trillion federal budget. Anyway, here is the BBC story headline and link:

The Red Cross is appealing for people overseas to contribute money to its Hurricane Katrina Appeal. But why does the world's richest nation need handouts?

Also, look online to see plenty of stories about how the Bush Admin has consistently cut spending on disaster relief, at times in the affected areas. Among other things (like not responding to Governor Blanco's request in advance for expidited emergency assistance), this shows another failure on their part to take care of the American people. A good place to start reading about this is here.