With the typhoon itself gone, many scholars are looking into who else bears responsibility-the government, with its constant focus on economic growth, industrial prosperity, and bustling consumption; and the people, with their demands for everything to be bigger, better, faster, newer, fancier, and more convenient, to the point of even making engineering projects a consideration when voting.
風災過後，許多學者提出「共犯結構」的省思：政府一味強調經濟成長、產業繁榮、消費熱絡，民眾則要求更多、更新、更快、更好、更方便──去山區旅遊要有便捷交通、水電油價要越便宜越好、投票前要看政治人物有沒有帶來工程「建樹」… …。