Parched residents of Kemp, a small East Texas city whose water mains keep crumbling in the season’s record heat, told local reporters at the height of the emergency this week, “According to the weather forecast we got no relief coming. We’re believing and we’re praying for rain.”

So the good people of Kemp face two problems, no rain and no money, which has left them with two equally ineffective solutions. They can indeed pray, which no doubt would win them the approval of Texas Governor Rick Perry and their local congressman, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) — or they can petition the government for infrastructure assistance, which neither Hensarling nor Perry would approve under any circumstances.