In Ayn Rand’s article “Natural Disaster Relief Efforts” it is mentioned that Hurricane Maria made landfall on the island of Puerto Rico and created a humanitarian crisis for its population. The Puerto Rico Electric Power authority originally entered into a $300 million dollar contract with Whitefish to repair their island’s energy grid, where they charged 2-3 times their normal rate due to the risk Whitefish was taking with Puerto Rico. Since Puerto Rico is in a state of emergency and Whitefish had the resources to help quickly and efficiently Ayn Rand found this increase in cost to be moral and rational. Ayn Rand states that it would even be immoral for Puerto Rico to enter into a contract that was less costly because it would provide fewer resources and Whitefish is known for mobilizing quickly and working effectively in challenging situations. Rand also mentioned that Whitefish was just compensating for the great risk they were taking on with helping Puerto Rico.
I have to strongly disagree with Rand’s viewpoint on this topic, since Puerto Rico is in an emergency situation they originally agreed to this contact because of the desperate need to restore their territory, but PREPA’s CEO changed his mind after being convinced by the public that what Whitefish is doing is selfish and unreasonable. The greater good in this situation is threatened, and I do not agree with Whitefish’s decision to increase their costs to aid to Puerto Rico. As mentioned in Utilitarianism “The Utilitarian morality does recognize in human beings the power of sacrificing their own greatest good for the good of others. It only refuses to admit that the sacrifice itself is a good. A sacrifice which does not increase, or tend to increase, the sum total of happiness, it considers as wasted”. Puerto Rico is in a very desperate and vulnerable position and on top of this already heart-breaking and devastating tragedy Whitefish is only making the situation more uneasy by increasing the costs of their services to benefit themselves, which results in a Whitefish failing to make the sacrifice to benefit the greater good. Whitefish could have provided their services for 2-3 times less, or possibly lessen their original cost to aid to the already suffering Puerto Rico. The greater good, which is the overall island of Puerto Rico would be under great jeopardy if they continued to accepted these costly services with the belief that this is the safest option when it comes to restoring Puerto Rico, therefore leaving Puerto Rico very conflicted and put under even more stress. It is understandable that Whitefish is taking a risk by aiding to Puerto Rico, but the devastation that Puerto Rico is experiencing and amount of people affected greatly overpowers the inconvenience of Whitefish.
The public and political outrage in Puerto Rico due to Whitefish’s cost increase is completely understandable when acknowledging the fact that Whitefish believed they needed to raise their prices to aid to Puerto Rico when Puerto Rico is in an already devastating position, and PREPA’s CEO’s decision to break the contract in the best interest of the people in Puerto Rico is completely valid. After Puerto Rico withdrew from the contract with Whitefish, Whitefish ceased construction on Puerto Rico’s main transition line, which was in desperate need of repair. This shows that Whitefish could not sacrifice themselves to greatly benefit the island of Puerto Rico. Whitefish is going completely against Utilitarianism by their blatant disregard for “the greater good for the greatest number”. Judging from these events it seems that Whitefish is prioritizing their own unfair contract over aiding to an island in desperate need of repair.