So now that Georgia is desperately asking FEMA for flood assistance I'm wondering which flooded park the teabaggers will protest in? FEMA and flood relief aren't covered in the constitution.
Replies
29
Beach Fanatic
I noticed that they were meeting locally for the big rally at the shelters at Liza Jackson Park in FWB. Most of the funds for replacing structures there after hurricanes have come from both FEMA and a state tax fund for boating improvement.
Beach Fanatic
I noticed that they were meeting locally for the big rally at the shelters at Liza Jackson Park in FWB. Most of the funds for replacing structures there after hurricanes have come from both FEMA and a state tax fund for boating improvement.
and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some state or local funding went into the purchase/donation of the land the park is on...
Banned
I thought this would be relevant to this thread-
David Cay Johnston
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist
Posted: September 23, 2009 03:14 PM
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GOP Favors Public Option for Property, Not People
Even those who fail to take personal responsibility to buy insurance to protect their property can get benefits, thanks in good part to politicians who are leading opponents of public option healthcare.
Consider the example of Trent Lott of Mississippi, who was that state's senior senator when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, flooding his home looking out on the Gulf. Lott had not exercised personal responsibility by taking out flood insurance even though it was available from the federal government at low cost. He did have private insurance, but his insurer refused to pay much of the claim, saying it was not wind damage (which was covered by the policy), but water damage (which was excluded).
Weeks later Lott introduced Senate Bill 1936, which would have authorized retroactive flood insurance. The idea came from Representative Gene Taylor, a Democrat who represented the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which should remind us that when there is voter demand for reform, and campaign contributions are not the driving force, the parties have worked together.
Lott's bill would have let flood victims pay 10 years of flood insurance premiums after-the-fact plus a 5 percent late payment penalty. Since this storm was rated a once in 500 years occurrence, even 10 years of premiums would not come close to covering the real costs, meaning a taxpayer subsidy was built into the Lott bill.
Instead of being laughed at by his fellow Republicans for promoting socialism, the concept of retroactive relief was warmly embraced, although not the idea for retroactive insurance. Instead the government went with handouts.
Senator Thad Cochran, also a Mississippi Republican and at the time chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was key to getting taxpayer benefits for flooded property, according to Taylor's staff. The benefits were issued and expanded twice, a total of about $18 billion in all, Taylor's staff estimated.
Contrast the two Mississippi Republican senators' determined action to get welfare for flooded buildings with their votes against expanding SCHIP health insurance for poor children.
Cochran opposes a public option in health care; Lott, now a lobbyist, says Obama should just declare victory after some minor tweaks, a way to oppose without quite saying so.
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the former head of the Republican Party, has spoken cautiously, but also appears to oppose a public option. But he, too, was an enthusiastic supporter of retroactive benefits for flooded property. Barbour even got the relief expanded and urged everyone to get their government property benefits.
There is also an interesting twist in this public option for another aspect of the health care debate - what to do about those who decline to buy insurance.
In Mississippi the relief for flooded buildings came with a requirement that owners buy flood insurance. It went further, requiring a covenant be added to their property deeds requiring the current and all future owners of that property to maintain public option flood insurance.
There is another word for that: government mandated insurance.
How about a similar retroactive option for people with a pre-existing condition who do not have health insurance? Many of these people had insurance before the recession cost them their jobs and with it, their health care coverage. Even people who took personal responsibility and had health insurance now may be without healthcare insurance because the recession cost them their jobs or their employers enough revenue to continue coverage.
Why should those who lost their jobs and thus their healthcare insurance be held to a different standard than irresponsible homeowners like former Senator Lott?
I call federal flood insurance a public option because it is provided by the federal government., It is sold, however, through individual insurance agents who collect commissions on the policies.
Private, for-profit insurers could sell this insurance if they wanted. The problem is that rating the risk of a once-in-a-century or even once in-a-millennium event is difficult and requires a huge pool of capital held in reserve to cover benefits that may be due tomorrow on in the year 2805.
Socializing these risks makes sense, and so does trying to minimize them with building codes that discourage building in some areas and require mitigating designs (like putting the first floor 15 feet above sea level). Individual policies for flood insurance, which many people must now rely on for health care coverage, would be like selling insurance for kindergarten in case of pregnancy or prosecution insurance in case you are a crime victim.
Congress is so generous in its subsidies for property that the public option for flood insurance even covers property built in flood prone areas. And you can literally buy insurance on the day of a flood in some cases, and 1 day before in others.
Along the Gulf Coast, on the barrier islands on the Atlantic, in below-water expanses behind river levees and in desert communities plagued by flash floods, our federal government is there using tax dollars to help take care of damaged property.
But people? Providing a public option so people can buy health insurance through the federal government is "socialism," according to Senator John Kyl, the Republican senator from Arizona, a desert state where flash floods are as permanent a feature of reality as sickness and injury. Will someone ask Kyl why he favors what he calls socialist policies for property, but not people?
And what about the denial of coverage you paid for, which so enraged Lott that he filed a lawsuit against his insurer, State Farm? Lott, like others, was told that their policies would cover the modest damage like broken windows and torn roofs caused by the hurricane's winds, but not the surge of storm waters, even though the wind drove those waters into Lott's living room.
Health insurance companies have found more than 1,400 reasons they can retroactively take away health insurance benefits from people, Congressional investigators found after digging through the fine print of insurance contracts. (You, of course, have read and understand every word in your health insurance contract, right?) A woman who had acne was denied breast cancer coverage, for example, though she later got her coverage restored.
And health insurance companies have become masters at digging up excuses to rescind policies, as shown by the recent hearings held by Representative Henry Waxman, who chairs the House subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
For-profit health insurers literally reward doctors who deny costly care to people, making corporate-run death panels a lucrative enterprise. As recounted in my book FREE LUNCH, Dr. Linda Peeno denied a heart transplant to a man she never met even though she was certain it would cause him to die. She did so in Kentucky, where she had a medical license, by stamping "denied" on a form even though the man was in California, where she was not licensed. Humana, one of the biggest for-profit health insurers, rewarded her and Dr. Peeneo got a conscience that caused her to stop that work and start working to end such abominations.
We have elevated property above human lives. That members of Congress who frequently proclaim their religious faith and cite the Bible as their guide would put property above people suggests they need to actually read the texts they claim guide them. Neither Jesus nor the Old Testament prophets ever put property first. They did however denounce those who did, labeling their deeds with a simple word: evil.
Two standards, separate and unequal, for the health of property and the health of people, are un-American. This bias in favor of property over people should be ended with all deliberate speed by raising the standard for people to that of property. A public option would be one small step in that direction.
David Cay Johnston
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist
Posted: September 23, 2009 03:14 PM
BIO Become a Fan
Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index
GOP Favors Public Option for Property, Not People
Even those who fail to take personal responsibility to buy insurance to protect their property can get benefits, thanks in good part to politicians who are leading opponents of public option healthcare.
Consider the example of Trent Lott of Mississippi, who was that state's senior senator when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, flooding his home looking out on the Gulf. Lott had not exercised personal responsibility by taking out flood insurance even though it was available from the federal government at low cost. He did have private insurance, but his insurer refused to pay much of the claim, saying it was not wind damage (which was covered by the policy), but water damage (which was excluded).
Weeks later Lott introduced Senate Bill 1936, which would have authorized retroactive flood insurance. The idea came from Representative Gene Taylor, a Democrat who represented the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which should remind us that when there is voter demand for reform, and campaign contributions are not the driving force, the parties have worked together.
Lott's bill would have let flood victims pay 10 years of flood insurance premiums after-the-fact plus a 5 percent late payment penalty. Since this storm was rated a once in 500 years occurrence, even 10 years of premiums would not come close to covering the real costs, meaning a taxpayer subsidy was built into the Lott bill.
Instead of being laughed at by his fellow Republicans for promoting socialism, the concept of retroactive relief was warmly embraced, although not the idea for retroactive insurance. Instead the government went with handouts.
Senator Thad Cochran, also a Mississippi Republican and at the time chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was key to getting taxpayer benefits for flooded property, according to Taylor's staff. The benefits were issued and expanded twice, a total of about $18 billion in all, Taylor's staff estimated.
Contrast the two Mississippi Republican senators' determined action to get welfare for flooded buildings with their votes against expanding SCHIP health insurance for poor children.
Cochran opposes a public option in health care; Lott, now a lobbyist, says Obama should just declare victory after some minor tweaks, a way to oppose without quite saying so.
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the former head of the Republican Party, has spoken cautiously, but also appears to oppose a public option. But he, too, was an enthusiastic supporter of retroactive benefits for flooded property. Barbour even got the relief expanded and urged everyone to get their government property benefits.
There is also an interesting twist in this public option for another aspect of the health care debate - what to do about those who decline to buy insurance.
In Mississippi the relief for flooded buildings came with a requirement that owners buy flood insurance. It went further, requiring a covenant be added to their property deeds requiring the current and all future owners of that property to maintain public option flood insurance.
There is another word for that: government mandated insurance.
How about a similar retroactive option for people with a pre-existing condition who do not have health insurance? Many of these people had insurance before the recession cost them their jobs and with it, their health care coverage. Even people who took personal responsibility and had health insurance now may be without healthcare insurance because the recession cost them their jobs or their employers enough revenue to continue coverage.
Why should those who lost their jobs and thus their healthcare insurance be held to a different standard than irresponsible homeowners like former Senator Lott?
I call federal flood insurance a public option because it is provided by the federal government., It is sold, however, through individual insurance agents who collect commissions on the policies.
Private, for-profit insurers could sell this insurance if they wanted. The problem is that rating the risk of a once-in-a-century or even once in-a-millennium event is difficult and requires a huge pool of capital held in reserve to cover benefits that may be due tomorrow on in the year 2805.
Socializing these risks makes sense, and so does trying to minimize them with building codes that discourage building in some areas and require mitigating designs (like putting the first floor 15 feet above sea level). Individual policies for flood insurance, which many people must now rely on for health care coverage, would be like selling insurance for kindergarten in case of pregnancy or prosecution insurance in case you are a crime victim.
Congress is so generous in its subsidies for property that the public option for flood insurance even covers property built in flood prone areas. And you can literally buy insurance on the day of a flood in some cases, and 1 day before in others.
Along the Gulf Coast, on the barrier islands on the Atlantic, in below-water expanses behind river levees and in desert communities plagued by flash floods, our federal government is there using tax dollars to help take care of damaged property.
But people? Providing a public option so people can buy health insurance through the federal government is "socialism," according to Senator John Kyl, the Republican senator from Arizona, a desert state where flash floods are as permanent a feature of reality as sickness and injury. Will someone ask Kyl why he favors what he calls socialist policies for property, but not people?
And what about the denial of coverage you paid for, which so enraged Lott that he filed a lawsuit against his insurer, State Farm? Lott, like others, was told that their policies would cover the modest damage like broken windows and torn roofs caused by the hurricane's winds, but not the surge of storm waters, even though the wind drove those waters into Lott's living room.
Health insurance companies have found more than 1,400 reasons they can retroactively take away health insurance benefits from people, Congressional investigators found after digging through the fine print of insurance contracts. (You, of course, have read and understand every word in your health insurance contract, right?) A woman who had acne was denied breast cancer coverage, for example, though she later got her coverage restored.
And health insurance companies have become masters at digging up excuses to rescind policies, as shown by the recent hearings held by Representative Henry Waxman, who chairs the House subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
For-profit health insurers literally reward doctors who deny costly care to people, making corporate-run death panels a lucrative enterprise. As recounted in my book FREE LUNCH, Dr. Linda Peeno denied a heart transplant to a man she never met even though she was certain it would cause him to die. She did so in Kentucky, where she had a medical license, by stamping "denied" on a form even though the man was in California, where she was not licensed. Humana, one of the biggest for-profit health insurers, rewarded her and Dr. Peeneo got a conscience that caused her to stop that work and start working to end such abominations.
We have elevated property above human lives. That members of Congress who frequently proclaim their religious faith and cite the Bible as their guide would put property above people suggests they need to actually read the texts they claim guide them. Neither Jesus nor the Old Testament prophets ever put property first. They did however denounce those who did, labeling their deeds with a simple word: evil.
Two standards, separate and unequal, for the health of property and the health of people, are un-American. This bias in favor of property over people should be ended with all deliberate speed by raising the standard for people to that of property. A public option would be one small step in that direction.
Banned
how foolish is this post....and its responses.
Beach Fanatic
So now that Georgia is desperately asking FEMA for flood assistance I'm wondering which flooded park the teabaggers will protest in? FEMA and flood relief aren't covered in the constitution.
Ask the President.....
Banned
how foolish is this post....and its responses.
Please enlighten us.
Banned
Please enlighten us.
would love too, but really whats the point, poppy. as if so-called teabaggers have anything to do with fema. its another loopy debate over nothing
SoWal Insider
Georgia got GEMA, don't forget. We've been turned down by Fed many times. No worries, here! And, we're still standing, soggy, but standing! 
I don't expect President Obama to turn this request down, but if he does, he'll lose a lot of second term votes in the Great State of Georgia.
Did Fed assist Utah and Minnesota earlier this year?
I don't expect President Obama to turn this request down, but if he does, he'll lose a lot of second term votes in the Great State of Georgia.
Did Fed assist Utah and Minnesota earlier this year?
SoWal Expert
Obama declared Louisville a federal disaster area after the Aug. 4th flash flood.
SWGBAuthor
Georgia got GEMA, don't forget. We've been turned down by Fed many times. No worries, here! And, we're still standing, soggy, but standing!
I don't expect President Obama to turn this request down, but if he does, he'll lose a lot of second term votes in the Great State of Georgia.
Did Fed assist Utah and Minnesota earlier this year?
GEMA isn't doing anything according to the news. That's why I posted the original comment. Apparently Georgia's broke and can't do anything.
Beach Fanatic
GEMA isn't doing anything according to the news. That's why I posted the original comment. Apparently Georgia's broke and can't do anything.
So is the Federal Government......
SoWal Insider
So is the Federal Government......
They knew it was going to happen, it's in the stimulus pkg.
SoWal Insider
Georgia is broke? Who knew?
Well, in any case, the protocol is for the local municipality or State government to declare the disaster and ask FED for assistance. This was a hard lesson for LA in 2005, with FEMA standing by and President Bush asking the LA Governor to file the documents so FED could step in immediately.
Gov. Perdue (R) who in his early years worked quite diligently with a Democratic Lt. Gov., which is unprecedented, has done an outstanding job with this disaster.
Maybe the Teabaggers will teabag in their canoes if they feel the need.......
Well, in any case, the protocol is for the local municipality or State government to declare the disaster and ask FED for assistance. This was a hard lesson for LA in 2005, with FEMA standing by and President Bush asking the LA Governor to file the documents so FED could step in immediately.
Gov. Perdue (R) who in his early years worked quite diligently with a Democratic Lt. Gov., which is unprecedented, has done an outstanding job with this disaster.
Maybe the Teabaggers will teabag in their canoes if they feel the need.......
Beach Fanatic
So now that Georgia is desperately asking FEMA for flood assistance I'm wondering which flooded park the teabaggers will protest in? FEMA and flood relief aren't covered in the constitution.
We should take ACORN's money (and whatever other pet liberal causes are being funded by our bloated democrat controlled government) and send it to Georgia to help those poor souls rebuild their lives. I mean, if it was good enough for everyone here when one of ours championed 2 billion federal dollars for New Orleans, why wouldn't we jump all in again?
SoWal Insider
We should take ACORN's money (and whatever other pet liberal causes are being funded by our bloated democrat controlled government) and send it to Georgia to help those poor souls rebuild their lives. I mean, if it was good enough for everyone here when one of ours championed 2 billion federal dollars for New Orleans, why wouldn't we jump all in again?say what you really mean. man up and admit your inner racist.
SoWal Insider
Y'all, respectfully, leave GA alone for a bit. There are a lot of homeless people here right now due to a natural disaster. And, most of those homeless people probably voted for Obama. If he refuses the assistance, which I doubt he will, GA will most definitely without a doubt be just fine. Georgia isn't broke (however, relatively speaking with this expense, probably so), but doesn't have the capability to print the billions of dollars necessary to assist with the repairs and rebuilding.
I don't care what you think about teabaggers, who calls whom a racist, etc......just let GA clean up and rebuild. This set new 100 yr. flood plain zones, which doesn't just affect GA, it affects AL and FL as well. At an elevation of 750' + many people wouldn't think to buy flood insurance if you are in Zone X.
I am two blocks from Peachtree Creek and a higher elevation than most in my neighborhood; I flooded. My cottage in FL is in Zone X and I am seriously considering flood insurance now for both properties.
I don't care what you think about teabaggers, who calls whom a racist, etc......just let GA clean up and rebuild. This set new 100 yr. flood plain zones, which doesn't just affect GA, it affects AL and FL as well. At an elevation of 750' + many people wouldn't think to buy flood insurance if you are in Zone X.
I am two blocks from Peachtree Creek and a higher elevation than most in my neighborhood; I flooded. My cottage in FL is in Zone X and I am seriously considering flood insurance now for both properties.
Beach Fanatic
say what you really mean. man up and admit your inner racist.
Bob, you are a hoot.
Sing to the tune of old Macdonald--
Ole' Bobdonald on the forum, ee, i, ee, i, o,
and on that forum everyone was racist, ee, i, ee, i, o,
with a racist here and a racist there, here a racist, there a racist,
everywhere a racist, racist,
Ole' Bobdonald on the forum, ee, i, ee, i, o,
and on that forum all were redneck, ee, i, ee, i, o,
with a redneck here and a redneck there, here a redneck, there a redneck,
everywhere a redneck, redneck,
Ole' Bobdonald went on a forum, ee, i, ee, i, o,
and there he met a LucySam, ee, i, ee, i, o,
with a scumbag here and a d___bag there, here a scumbag, there a scumbag, everywhere a d___bag, d___bag
LucySam and Bobdonald, ee, i, ee, i, o,
are having so much fun these days, ee, i, ee, i, o,
calling names here, lashing out there, here a graph, there a graph, everywhere a graph, graph,
EE, I, EE, I, O!
Edited
Beach Fanatic
say what you really mean. man up and admit your inner racist.
Random musings of a small mind.
SoWal Insider
Bob, you are a hoot.please tell me again about how bad sowal real estate is, and then you can put the hood back on.
Sing to the tune of old Macdonald--
Ole' Bobdonald on the forum, ee, i, ee, i, o,
and on that forum everyone was racist, ee, i, ee, i, o,
with a racist here and a racist there, here a racist, there a racist,
everywhere a racist, racist,
Ole' Bobdonald on the forum, ee, i, ee, i, o,
and on that forum all were redneck, ee, i, ee, i, o,
with a redneck here and a redneck there, here a redneck, there a redneck,
everywhere a redneck, redneck,
Ole' Bobdonald went on a forum, ee, i, ee, i, o,
and there he met a LucySam, ee, i, ee, i, o,
with a scumbag here and a d___bag there, here a scumbag, there a scumbag, everywhere a d___bag, d___bag
LucySam and Bobdonald, ee, i, ee, i, o,
are having so much fun these days, ee, i, ee, i, o,
calling names here, lashing out there, here a graph, there a graph, everywhere a graph, graph,
EE, I, EE, I, O!
Beach Fanatic
please tell me again about how bad sowal real estate is, and then you can put the hood back on.
Ee, i, ee, i, o.
SoWal Insider
Here's some pictures of your political football SWGB:
Flooding in the Southeast - The Big Picture - Boston.com
Flooding in the Southeast - The Big Picture - Boston.com
Edited
Beach Fanatic
I'm still waiting on SWGB to tell us where the teabaggers are hanging out.
SoWal Insider
Ee, i, ee, i, o.
Christian Life Rd, Paxton, FL, 32538 - MLS #492370 - Land real estate - REALTOR.com® home sweet home!
Beach Fanatic
I'm still waiting on SWGB to tell us where the teabaggers are hanging out.
It's very curious to have the original poster speak so derisively of "teabaggers".
Beach Fanatic
It's very curious to have the original poster speak so derisively of "teabaggers".You appear titillated at the thought. Dirty old man.
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