Voluntary aid to help people in a disaster area is a noble thing to do. Giving money to poor people in good conditions via government instituted wealth distribution schemes is not. Government welfare will not help and will only subsidize poverty thereby creating more of it.
As for looters the property owners should have the right to defend their own property and not depend on government to protect it.
If the owner is gone and people are starving, should it be okay to let people take food rather than let the food spoil?
When the blanket term like looting is used most tend to think of luxuries and not the fact that people may be taking necessities.
You're kinda missing my point.
A) Not saying it should be government welfare.
B) Charitable donations to get food and water and medicine in quick will reduce risk of rioting.
C) Looting/rioting is really bad for several reasons
1. destabilizes already fragile property rights
2. damages haitian businesses already pressed to breaking by ridiculous taxation and regulation. 70% of Haitian GDP comes from 35% of workers. The businessmen (not the farmers). If the businessmen go down, everyone does
3. destabilizes the government.
Unstable government means more extreme government. Extreme government means more economic interference, more corruption and more riots (so more instability)
Riots lead to dumb stuff like roadblocks which makes things even worse.
You're very unlikely to get laissez fair during a time of crisis.
Just look at what happened with the Great Depression. People will not accept "just leave it, things will be fine" when people are starving.
And if things get really bad, people might organize and take down the government entirely, which is usually REALLY bad, not least because the instability involved, but uprisings generally lead to more socialism and fascism (Back to square one).
Most aid money that goes to the government gets pocketed because corruption is so rife, but that just means you don't give money to someone who's going to give it to the government.
The most realistic ideal situation for Haiti is that
1. Things get back to normal relatively quick thanks to charitable aid.
2. Nothing really bad happens for a while, and government lets off on at least one area of economic destruction (allowing more foreign investments is most likely or reducing business regulation/price fixing)
3. After a time right guys get into power and enact market reforms
4. recovery begins.
People thinking they shouldn't give aid because it will help in the long run are making a really bad decision.