Beans & LegumesFEMA: “We Want Our Money Back!”
Six years after Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf-Coast, victims are receiving notices from FEMA, and apparently they want their money back.
“FEMA is seeking to recover more than $385 million it says was improperly paid to victims of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. The debts, which average about $4,622 per recipient, represent slightly less than 5 percent of the roughly $8 billion that FEMA distributed after the storms. At least some of the overpayments were due to FEMA employees’ own mistakes, ranging from clerical errors to failing to interview applicants, according to congressional testimony.”
– news-journalonline.com
83,000 debt notices were sent out this year for victims of Katrina and other storms that occurred in 2005. Apparently it’s taken the government agency approximately 6-7 years to act on the mismanaged funds.
It’s an interesting notion, receiving funds for disaster recovery and then being asked to pay it back 6 years after the disaster. This begs a few questions. Questions that we’d love to hear what The Ready Nation’s take is:
1. When the government appropriates funds for responding to disasters should there be any strings attached? Is attaching strings an appropriate approach to help mitigate fraud or is there a better solution?
2. Are victims getting what they deserve due to a lack of preparation on their part or are there situations where receiving aid from the government is justified and necessary?
3. With proper foresight could these victims have better positioned themselves and avoided being at the mercy of FEMA? If so, what would you recommend they have done to be better prepared?
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If someone collected FEMA funds under fraudulent circumstances, then yes they should pay it back and possibly face criminal prosecution. But if the money was incorrectly given to someone due to negligence/mistake by a government employee, the employee should be held responsible not the person who got the money. Six years later, the money has already been spent.
q1: There are always strings with govt money.
q2: Yes they are getting what they deserve. Is govt aid ever justified and necessary, yes but only to those who absolutely cannot help themselves. The notion that people can’t take care of themselves has to be discredited or else history will continue to repeat itself.
q3: Of course people could have been better prepared. It takes days for a storm to make landfall. Hurricane season begins and ends the same time every year. It was always known that New Orleans was vulnerable to flooding. Living in a hurricane prone area, we put a kit together every season. At the end of the season we just rotated the items into our normal pantry. This can be done a little at a time to avoid spending a lot at once. You don’t need very expensive items either. If you plan well you can take advantage of sales and use a warehouse store. Of course the Ready Store is a treasure trove of information, advice, and excellent products.
December 30th, 2011 at 7:04 amWow, Sandy – I’m shocked that you would write, “Yes they are getting what they deserve.”
Seriously… That is horrible…
I wasn’t in Katrina, nor do I receive government aid in any form. However, I have been in situations where I needed some temporary assistance and wasn’t able to get it. I can’t tell you the stress that put me under. Because of those experiences, I am in full support of my taxes being used to assist those in disasters rather than going to fatten a nameless, faceless political machine.
I’m all for self-sufficiency, but there are a LOT of circumstances in which people could not possibly have been ready for something that devastating – no matter how much food they had stored away.
I think you are a significant part of the problem with this country. Such a lack of compassion and empathy belongs elsewhere — I hope you never have to experience an actual disaster, as you may be in for a surprise about what it’s really like and find yourself not nearly prepared enough.
January 2nd, 2012 at 1:57 amIf they collected from FEMA & insurance too yes pay it back.
January 2nd, 2012 at 2:46 amDuring a storm in which my parents got flooded, FEMA came along. My parents had flood insurance, and told the agent that they had insurance. The agent said that they qualify anyway, and signed them up. They got a check. Then a few years later, two FBI agents came to their house looking for my dad. He was at work but was given the opertunity to turn him self in that day. After I bonded my father, we got a lawyer. FEMA claimed to have compelling evidence that my parents committed fraud. The day before my fathers court date, FEMA dropped the case. Come to find out, FEMA brought several thousand cases before a judge, and he bulk signed them with out looking at them. If FEMA wanted their money back, all they had to do was ask my dad. The thing is that I have seen this over and over with FEMA, it seems to be how they do business, they screwup, and you got to prison.
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:19 amThere are whole segments of our society that will never take responsibility for planning for future disasters. They are convinced that the State , federal and local governments are responsible for taking care of them in any current or future calamities. Not only that they are convinced that society owes them for all past injustices. When they perceive that they are not being taken care of as they believe they deserve they don’t role up their sleeves and take care of themselves , no they riot at the drop of a hat.
January 2nd, 2012 at 5:26 amRonald Reagan said that the scariest words ever said was We’re from the Government and we’re here to help you. FEMA or any other government agency does not care about the 99 percenters. They never have and never will. The only time the government pretends to help is for the photo opportunities and once those are over then comes their reality of trying to hurt as many people as they think they can get away with. Asking people who lost everything to give back what little aid they received is just wrong and personally I’d rather see my tax dollars used to help those people than going into some fat cat rich millionaire who bought a seat on congress.
January 2nd, 2012 at 5:33 amHere’s my take on “yes, they are getting what they deserve” comment by Sandy and the response by Mandy.
1. To be hit by a natural disaster is NOT getting what you deserve.
2. To be unprepared for “every conceivable possibility” emerging from a natural disaster and the consequent suffering from that lack of preparedness is certainly “deserved.” Like my “Pappy” always told me . . . “you made your bed now lie in it!”
3. I am not heartless and willingly assist under certain circumstances but I refuse to be “responsible” for the irresponsible acts of my fellow humans.
4. I want to make the decision to be helpful and NOT some irresponsible gov’t agency “helping” on my behalf.
January 2nd, 2012 at 5:46 amStrings attached, he government loves strings, it gives them power/control. They have the money & the gun to enforce/make up the rules as they go. We all live in areas where there is some type of natural disaster zone, like the coast, with hurricanes, the Midwest with tornadoes, California with wild fires, etc. it’s easy & inexpensive to get some disaster supplies together to get you thru a couple of days if you can’t get out of the way of whatever is coming. If you can leave & you don’t you are on your own, it’s called a choice, with every choice comes PERSONAL RESPONSIBility. I noticed some else mentioned a segment of society refuses to accept this, I am done with that group. I will gladly take care of my fellow man/woman I my local area but do not ask me to be the catch net for everyone.
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:01 amI live in Owls Head NY, where there are alot of seniors on SSI and food assistance: Is it their fault they’re old? What would you suggest in their case- euthanesia? Many have families, true, but many young folks nowadays care more about themselves.
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:12 amWell, here’s the thing. The devil is in the details! When it come to government ANYTHING there is going to fraud, lieing, cheating, ON THEIR PART. Of course they’re asking for “their” money back, which by the way is not really their money at all. IT’S OURS! They, nearly all of the government, are schemers. I’m tired of them picking on Americans. People better wise up. Stock up! and be ready to take care of ourselves! Its only going to get worse. Don’t get me wrong, I’m hoping for the best but getting prepared for the worse!
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:26 amI say help them all! (the first time) Failure to prepare the second time, well, they should have learned from the first experience. Also consider, some of whom did not prepare could have easily been too old, too poor or unable. There are a lot of seniors barely making ends meet and trying to live off Social Security. They can’t afford their medicine much less prepare for emergency supplies. As for only taking care of your “local area folks only” that is mean and selfish. We are all connected to everyone in the world. It has been said we are only three people away from anyone in the world…The person you DON’T help make just break the chain in your much needed connection. We have a huge population of seniors now that will need assistance. We all need to step up to the plate and do our share. Even if we think they do not deserve it. Kindness does not go unrewarded…you do reap what you sow.
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:31 amOk, I say we as a “Nation” ask for our money back for all those worthless trailer homes purchased with OUR money to house the people of the Katrina disaster….and the govt thinks it can run HEALTHCARE after botching SS, Medicare,the housing mkt, Katrina…..it leaves me scratching my head.
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:36 amThis is just another way of government control. What if people dont pay? Will they be put in FEMA camps and locked away to rot. Now thet OBAMA signed NDAA the other day the gocernment can basicly arrest, hold, torture, ever murder american citizens for what ever reason they want. Good bye Constitution and Bill of Rights. Ron Paul is our only hope. WAKE UP AMERICA…
January 2nd, 2012 at 7:15 amThis is what we get for allowing the “Nanny State” to form. Hopefully, anyone suspected of fraud should be charged and brought before the courts.
As to JQP’s comment regarding NDAA & RP, READ THE BILL! I do not in any way approve of our current administration but NDAA does NOT allow for the imprisonment, torture or murder of American citizens. No statute can repeal the Bill of Rights. Another scare tactic I guess although I am not happy with most of the choices out there right now.
January 2nd, 2012 at 8:01 amThis may be off topic but the point to is motivate everyone to prepare for the worse and not depend on the government to save you because when you take their money and aid, it may be worse for you in the end as these Katrina victims.
There are several references to Social Security and preparing so this is in response to those comments.
When Social Security was first implemented in 1935, the average life expectancy was 67 years and the benefit could not be collected until age 65. So the intent was the benefit would last two years on average.
Whether Social Security was meant to be a “retirement”, “pension” or a supplement to the pension and/or savings a person acquired through preparation I am not sure. I am certain it was not meant for an individual to receive for decades as many recipients now do including my grandparents and parents.
Will it be around for the younger generations? I’m not sure but I would recommend to prepare as though it will not be there.
Both my grandfathers only had an 8th grade education and somehow they were knowledgeable enough to be prepared and made it just fine. How? They lived well below their means their entire life and saved, saved, saved.
We live in a “get it now” society that has been sold the idea we need it now, so go into debt to get it. My grandfathers went into debt very infrequently, maybe a couple of times during their lifetimes. They paid cash for everything.
When they died, since they were debt free, their estates were in the black. Can the same be said for us?
Go to http://www.feedthepig.org or http://www.daveramsey.com to educate yourself on how you can do the same financially.
My grandparents also kept a large food storage of canned goods, had their own water well, always had a garden, a storm shelter and were prepared to feed their families for quite some period if they had to without going to the store. Somehow that all got lost along the way and I am going to be re-instilling this practice into my family.
If your already on this site, then you should know this is a good resource for other types of preparations.
Happy New Year to you all and may you all make a decision this year to be prepared.
January 2nd, 2012 at 8:42 amPerhaps the author of the article shouldn’t have phrased the question using the words “get what they deserve”. However, it is everyone’s responsibility to be prepared, even if that means in the most minimal way, for a disaster. Our government, by way of offering to pay everyone’s way, has created a false sense of entitlement both in everyday life and when disaster strikes. Keep in mind, folks along that part of the coast have hurricanes every year. Also keep in mind, they were given 5, yes that’s “five” days notice to evacuate. While I agree it is our civic duty to aid and support those who cannot fend for themselves, the elderly and infirmed, it is not our civic duty to babysit and coddle those who choose to do nothing to help themselves. If the funds were given errantly or due to fraud, they should be returned. Considering it’s taken FEMA 6 years to even get around to sending out collection notices and some of the errors were made by FEMA employees, that begs the question…if they were so disorganized to begin with, how do we know their information is currently correct? This entire situation begs another question…has FEMA or anyone else, developed an organized plan to evacuate and assist when this happens again with the next big hurricane? Has anyone gone into these communities and taught preparedness skills?
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:31 amI live near Wilkes Barre, PA. We recently got flooded by the local river. We were told by everybody that the river would crest above the levee but that it would only be a few feet. So we moved everything up to the second floor and evacuated with our emergency supplies and we stayed in a motel room. For days we were told the river went as high as expected. When we finally got back in our house, we discovered our second floor had been flooded as well. Insurance wouldn’t cover it because the official story was my second floor should not have flooded. I did everything I was supposed to but still got bit in the rear end. It happens no matter how well you prepare. Those “worthless” FEMA trailers gave my family a place to stay for a few months. It was recently announced that the river gauges did not function properly and that the river crested significantly higher than reported. I just got my insurance payment now many months after my loss. FEMA DOES help. They may occasionally make mistakes but my family would have been in trouble had it not been for them.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:45 amIt’s pretty simple and predictable. Since the 60′s our nation has been on a down hill slide towards a total dependency on the government, lack of personal responsibility and a sense of entitlement. This has, as seen in Katrina/NOLA, been in the African American community perpetuated by the likes of Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Quanell X, and others who make a living by convincing the African American community that they are dependent upon them for the protection of their “rights”. Our founding fathers only wanted that men were given equal opportunity to take responsibility for themselves and receive the reward for their efforts. There is no racism here so save the comments. Yes there are whites and hispanics that fall into the same trap, but in no other ethnic community is their a systematic leadership to create the sense of entitlement. Remember that government power (and power in general) eminates from the dependency of the populous. Make decisions on facts. Look at the floods in Iowa or the Katrina damage in MS or other places along the coast. Those towns rolled up their sleeves and took care of themselves.
Back to the questions. If you take assistance from the government without asking questions about conditions attached and documenting the answers and who gave them, you are naive. If you commit fraud you should go to jail. The FEMA leaders should be fired for allowing our money to be distributed in a hap hazard way. There should be no greater responsibility in the government than to assure that funds confiscated from the populous are used in an efficient and judicious manner, without waste.
Regardless of whether you “deserve” what you get, the fact is many of those “helpless people” chose to drive an Escalade and carry an iPhone and buy Air Jordan’s instead of sacrificing to be prepared for disasters. Take responsibility for your actions (or inactions as the case may be) Ray Nagin should have been voted out for his lack of leadership when you leave hundreds of buses that could have been used to evacuate citizens to flood in a parking lot. He and Kathleen Blanco would rather point fingers and blame others than lead responsibly.
Lest you think me heartless, those who truly need help should be helped. The problem is that bleeding hearts refuse to make the necessary judgement call as to who among those in a disaster actually need help and who were those that were foolish and had means but chose to squander their own resources.
What the populous could have done was leave. There was plenty of notice and NOLA is below sea level. I don’t think FEMA should pay twice for any disaster that is foreseeable. Just like those that get flooded out in the MS River valley in Missouri two and three times only to have the government pay to have them rebuild on the same spot. Bailed out once and then if you rebuild on the same spot, your dime.
Let us also not forget that the NOLA PD unlawfully disarmed the citizens of NOLA and left them at the mercy of the thugs and criminals. And then herded them in to the Super Dome to be raped and violated. Never, ever, give up your arms in a disaster. They may be the only source of your salvation.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:53 am1. There has to be strings attached. You cannot have a program that pays out money after a loss, then have that money spent on a Vegas vacation, only to have the recipient come home and take advantage of a different welfare program. I think it is possible to see claims that are true, but no allowed under FEMA rules and these people should have to pay back money and the people who lied and knew they were committing fraud should go to jail.
2. People could have made some better decisions, but when water sweeps away your entire neighborhood, a bug out bag and some freeze-dried food would not have helped those who lost everything. Policy should require people to have home owners insurace that covers these types of disasters since it’s clear now who will foot the bill if individuals don’t.
3. Hindsight is 20-20. They could have chose a more stable geography for where they live, they could have had private insurance, but no one saw this coming.
January 2nd, 2012 at 10:14 amIf you have a family, it is irresponsible to not be prepared (especially if there are children involved). My husband and I are retired and two of our adult children have become disabled. The four of us and one grandchild live together. We have fixed incomes but we still try to make sure that we are prepared for anything that may come along especially now that we live in the Texas Panhandle. It is not hard to buy an extra few cans of food each week. It costs less that the price of a meal eaten out at a restaurant. The real criminals are the polititians in Washington. They rape and pillage the American Taxpayer at every turn. Then they act blameless when their programs go haywire. The real criminals are the polititians connected to FannyMae and FreddyMac, and FEMA and any other so called government agency that says (We are here to help you). You will find thatfor every $1 dollar given to you, they are taking $10 dollars for themselves. I know that it is impossible to be prepared for every disaster that may come along. But if you can prepare for 1 major disaster, you are prepared for most of the others.
January 2nd, 2012 at 10:38 amI feel the need to give a little self history before completing my answer, I worked as a Lineman for a Power company in Alabama. Working as a Lineman I am required to stay not leaving the area but I can send my family out of harms way, in 2004 Hurricane Ivan (http://www.hurricaneville.com/ivan.html ) required that, we had a 72 hour kit prepared and at the ready, my wife left and proceeded to try and get out of the way of the approaching hurricane, not only do hurricane’s damage coastal regions but they continue to farther inland. I rode out that storm in as safe a place as I could, when it had ended and was safe to go outside i went and surveyed the damage to our house, lost the roof and everything inside was beyond repair, I made the phone calls i needed to and collected what canned food i could find left and went to work restoring Electricity. I am still fighting with insurance 8 years later as they continue to come up with things as to why they shouldn’t pay wether it be from you didn’t have this clause or that. I didn’t receive FEMA money for any of it as I was not around when they came by and I would not have asked for any. I came up with the belief you don’t take government money be it FEMA or un-employment or food stamps, there are always strings attached.
I have yet to figure out why within society things changed and we started believing that the government could save us and protect us, the paper work and run around created by each program becomes un-ending as “we” surrender our freedoms and liberties trying to get back our tax dollars trying to help ourselves. It use to be common place to hear of the over spending and outrageous costs of items bought and used by the government, ( just think of the 100$ hammer http://www.scragged.com/articles/yes-virginia-a-298-hammer-really-costs-our-government-100 ) Do “we” not think of these things, one of the great lies always joked about was as a knock on the door ” I work for the government and I am here to help” Bureaucracies are slow and supposedly have these checks and balances built in “yeah right” people don’t think anymore about where that money comes from, all most know is that I want it and as much as I can get.
What did people do when there wasn’t air conditioning?, they sweated and still lived, what did people do when health insurance was not a part of peoples benefits? they took care of their own saved and paid however and whatever they could. I just know as people enter to contractual agreements there are always stipulations as to what you can do and how to do it, if it wasn’t that way there would not be so much paper work and all that would be needed is a hand shake.
1. When the government appropriates funds for responding to disasters should there be any strings attached? Is attaching strings an appropriate approach to help mitigate fraud or is there a better solution?
A. Nothing is free there are always strings attached. It’s ashamed that during Katrina clean up that there were some contractors working for free helping the hard hit communities for free not charging the people and not collecting government money, they were told to leave as they were in violation of work laws and so forth.
2. Are victims getting what they deserve due to a lack of preparation on their part or are there situations where receiving aid from the government is justified and necessary?
A. Suffering is never deserved, a disaster is just that a disaster, how would one prepare for loosing a house and all contents. How would one prepare if your storage area was flooded and items washed away or looted or blown away by high winds, what would you do if an earthquake collapsed your storage area and you could not get to it. Even as prep-per’s are we not selfish striving to take care of our families watch out for anything we can think of so that just our own individual units are taken care of. Do we rush out and help out the people down the street, sure we might do that right at the moments after an impact but then do we sit and say “we the people” (government ) will take care of. Do we surrender our food and supplies to someone across the way that didn’t stock up, lines are drawn each day by people some to be crossed as they choose and some never to be undertaken. One should take their own responsibilities for their own choices, ( ” if i had stopped to tie my shoe I would not have tripped and broken my nose” ) is that a governmental responsibility to help or should the individual say I did it and I can fix it, or as it seems now days do “we the people” need to step in and make a LAW saying your shoes should always be tied and if not you will be fined and imprisoned. Why is it that “we” feel the need to pass so many governmental rules and regulations on others as “we” find things “we” do not like about this or that. Be responsible for your own actions if you accept governmental help and you didn’t use the money for what was stated contractually then you should return it, if you did use it as it was written to be used then go to court and fight for your choice and responsibility.
3. With proper foresight could these victims have better positioned themselves and avoided being at the mercy of FEMA? If so, what would you recommend they have done to be better prepared?
A. Our society does not take care of our own very well, “we” are to busy looking elsewhere for others outside our nation to take care and contractually agree to help. A person can always observe news programing wether it be on tv or computers or cell phone or word of mouth, and individual should be responsible enough for themselves to think and prepare for whatever they feel they should and not rest with saying someone else will do it for me. If it bothers you that so many went without, think what do I do to take care of me and my family. information is out there decide where and how you want to research what you think you need to do, be responsible at least for yourself.
Grammatically in correctly written and punctuated by me. My own fault not the public schools system.
January 2nd, 2012 at 10:43 amI agree with Sharon Brown, “they rape and pillage the American Taxpayer at every turn.”
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:15 amNo one should have to pay FEMA, it is paid for by us the taxpayers. That would be like paying the Justice Department because they caught a drug dealer. The people on the Gulf Coast should be suing the government for renting the Gulf out to oil companies. It’s where they live, and also for not responding at all after the levies broke. Nice try, FEMA! Take it to the Occupy movement! Whatever your gripes are. There is power in numbers.
Government welfare & FEMA are a mess. I lived thru Rita & Katrina in Southern Louisiana. A lot of people hollered; a lot of people got needed assistance; a lot of people took advantage of the system. I have a personal friend who lived in a FEMA trailer for a year after she lied about damages to the rental apartment she was living in. Will she be caught and forced to pay? –I doubt it; she already subsists on SSI and other government subsidies.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:29 am1. There are always strings with government money of any nature. On disasters of this magnitude, there always will be fraud. FEMA should hold its staff accountable, along with its lack of accounting controls, not the people that got the money. 6 years after the event is a bit too long to go after folks. People also need to understand that FEMA is a preparedness / mitigation agency and a recovery agency, not an emergency response agency. They are also a relatively small agency, relying on a reserve corps of response personnel. These reserves have a varying level of competency.
2. On getting what they deserve – Maybe. Disasters, such as hurricanes give a lot of warning. The mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of LA failed to get people out of the path of the hurricane. The folks that lived on the government dole don’t have the resources to evacuate, and when government fails, as it did in Louisiana / New Orleans, those same folks suffer. Residents of Mississippi in Katrina, didn’t suffer the same fate as New Orleans, and the Texas residents managed to get out of the path of Rita. One of the sad things about Katrina is that all the disaster exercises prior to storm for 15+ years predicted that in a Cat 3+ storm, what happened, would happen. The politicians ignored those results, since funding preparedness for an event that may happen once every 30 years isn’t important. Only the next election is important.
3. People of all economic levels need to take personal responsibility for their preparedness and not rely on the government to help them. Unfortunately for the last 70+ years we have developed a “Nanny State” mentality where we look to local, state, and federal governments to tell us how to prepare and what to do. There are lots of web sites with information on how to prepare. The information is there, but people have to have the will to prepare and take action as needed.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:43 amThe money FEMA has access to, to distribute is our (my) taxpayer money. FEMA pays employees to manage those funds and pays trainers to train them properly. This is overhead. Mistakes happen. Mistakes should not happen.
We were recently wiped out by flash flooding on a locally, for us, epic scale. For us it was very much legitimate to consider FEMA’s offer of financial assistance. What they were able to do is offer an interest-free temporary loan. After reviewing the details, I did not accept the offer.
Instead, what genuinely worked for us was the local neighbors banding together and working out what needed to be worked out and swapping what was genuinely needed. Money was not the priority or the help, what money could by was.
My take is that FEMA money might be better spent only on what there would be no way for us to do ourselves locally, such as replacing bridges and roads, and stepping in to authoritatively postpone normally due payments to others. Pausing loan repayment progress was genuinely important around here.
Money back? If it was mistakenly distributed incorrectly, yes. FEMA made the mistake. Employee within FEMA is not relevant, or we are paying FEMA to have that processed also. I certainly could have used that taxpayer-funded FEMA offer of an interest-free temporary loan. But I also read what it was and realized I cannot afford that debt to my fellow Americans, when I could do what it would do, cheaper, and at lower risk, locally, and get it done.
So, what is being said here? Legitimate recipients are now not legitimate recipients and they are pointing the finger at a large Gov’t agency for not disqualifying them in time? Something smells there. Something, in a generation, was not taught correctly, I think.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:45 amOh what a tangeled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive…….
I live in southeast texas,louisiana borders our town. Katrina, Rita and Ike did not stop at the louisiana state line. We also suffered the wrath of these storms. My house was close to unliveable, but we lived four years in that condition. We were denied by Fema, we eventually had to sue our insurance company because of denials. It took two years but we won our suit. Long story we saw many cases of fraud and abuse in our neighborhood. We have always believed we were better off not receiveing Fema help. If they were as stupid as they came off then, someone was going to pay for their stupidity down the road.
January 2nd, 2012 at 1:35 pmI live in Broome County, NY- where the 2006 flood was a main story covered by the Weather Channel. I teach at a public school, which is right along the Susquehanna River. There was not warning sufficient for the flooding. I was literally caught in the car with my kids, driving up the highest roads away from the disaster, literally watching the road get dissolved on both sides of me. Rt 26 became a river with the water just scraping the underside of the road signs in one hour’s time. I was one of the last to get out onto the highway and make it to my best friend’s house who lived in Whitney Point up on the highest hill. We had nothing but the clothes on our backs.
January 2nd, 2012 at 1:55 pmAfter surviving that- I decided I would NEVER BE IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT AGAIN.My family thought I was “overreacting” as I have gradually built things up to bug out bags and 72 hour kits, and managed to scrape up about a 3 month supply. Then, in September- the flooding hit AGAIN. This time, my neighbors and I decided to shelter in place because we were better prepared here than being at the mercy of the overcrowded evac centers. We all had some damage but we got through okay.
I am a single parent and $$ is very tight. Bottom line: providing for your family in its truest sense comes in the form of having your bob’s and kits ready. You never know.
To Tom:
January 2nd, 2012 at 2:01 pmSeriously – have you actually read the full text of the NDAA – all 400+ pages? Do you even know what section contains the provisions to which you are referring?
In signing the bill into law President Obama stated “…Moreover, I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens….” because of his concerns with the legislation which leads me to believe that the language could warrant doing just that without Presidential intervention. You should try going to the Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/index.html) and reading through some of the laws that get enacted before you demonstrate your ignorance again.
Just think, a few years from now we won’t need FEMA any more and the government can go home. Join “Mercury One”
January 2nd, 2012 at 2:15 pmhttp://www.mercuryone.org/
People helping people.
OK, I agree with the comments concerning repayment in the case of insurance coverage on the PROPERTY losses. PEOPLE often are in DIRE NEED of TEMPORARY emergency assistance. The staples of life (food, clothing, shelter) are what I’m speaking of. People who lost EVERYTHING need help and they need it IMMEDIATELY and insurance, no matter how good is going to take TIME to help. This is where the gov’t is SUPPOSED to help it’s CITIZENS (read that TAX PAYERS.) I’m all for charity, but CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME. In the past, neighbors helped neighbors and communities helped their residents I think this is the way it should be. People that the gov’t has “ASSISTED” from THE WOMB TO THE TOMB, for GENERATIONS will continue to stand with their hands out, THIS HAS TO STOP…NOW. People living in this country ILLEGALLY shouldn’t be given GOVERNMENT (U.S.) assistance. These people have contributed NOTHING to the general fund that the assistance (money) is to be drawn from. In regard to assisting illegal aliens, I would actually rather see the money go to them than to the group that has fed at the public trough for decades (the Bible says if you don’t work, you don’t eat, so every ABLE BODIED PERSON SHOULD WORK.) The MAJORITY of the largest group of illegal aliens WILL WORK, most are not lazy. I believe that TEMPORARY gov’t assistance should be available to ALL tax payers without them having to repay a penny, the money they receive is THEIR MONEY to begin with. In the case of insurance to replace PROPERTY, aid, other than TEMPORARY, EMERGENCY AID, should not be given UNLESS it is understood that this money will have to be repaid. This MUST be understood BEFORE the money is given. PRIVATE CHARITY may do as it sees fit and may require repayment or not, that is NONE OF THE GOVERNMENT’S BUSINESS. I can’t say how long TEMPORARY, EMERGENCY AID should last, but I don’t think it should be INDEFINENT. Six years is a LONG time to be getting TEMPORARY assistance. I think it’s WAY past the time this should have ended.
January 2nd, 2012 at 2:51 pmFirst, it is not deserved. Things happen, like maybe got hit with an emergency hospital bill, extremely long illness (though from the “no longer need to be declared dead” to take body parts (just the doctor saying that it would be too expensive and not worth doing, or that the quality of life for that person not good for harvesting those easily sold parts) for that to no longer be a problem.
But when “our” government can take OUR money and use it to rebuild foreign peoples homes in their own foreign nation then their is NO reason they should be collecting from Americans. (Like when H. Clinton took our money and sent it to Palestinians to rebuild their flood damaged homes after refusing American citizens aid for their destroyed homes the day before).
Collect all OUR money back from foreign nations FIRST. Our money that our government uses for foreign countries needs to be stopped, America, and Americans first.
Those of you that think that we are broke, if that was true then why are we still sending foreign aid (it is well over $2.5 Trillion a year to 150 foreign nations, and yes, I am aware that is not the amount “our” government puts out there for us to see. But I spent 6 months tracking and their figure is incorrect.), corporate welfare to corporations not even based in the USA, nor hiring over 50% American citizen employees.
Homeland is now the third highest cost we have for the relatively short time it has existed, right below Defense.
You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does. You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because the Congress created that problem. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted – by present facts – of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. Charlie Reese (listen to him, he is correct. Or research it yourself)
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:16 pmMy daughter-in -law worked with other volunteers when Falmouth KY was over run by flood waters. We all gave much needed clothing and food for the volunteers to distribute to those that lost their homes and posessions. Then, FEMA came in, chased all the volunteers, threw the donated clothes and food out and just took over the situation with their “approved” clothes and food. I really hate these government jerks and hope we can get a president that will clean out all these federal agencies of the crooks and criminals that staff them.
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:32 pmWhile folks should be prepared, there is a limit one can reach, and assistance (note the word) may be needed, ie medical, and things that can not be handled on an individual basis. But when the “government” steps in and takes over and refuses or abuses assistance efforts that are already in place and working …… well, that is not the assistance that is needed (or wanted) …… governemnt ineptetude is not new, just more costly and apparently more and more the “norm” that is accepted …… of course giving money to dead people makes it really hard to get it back ….. gee, did the government do that? YA THINK!!!!
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:56 pmFirst of all, the money squandered by FEMA is NOT THEIRS TO demand back. It IS the taxpayers money and if anyone should cry foul and want their money back, it SHOULD be the taxpayer, not a corrupt government agency!
January 2nd, 2012 at 4:49 pmFEMA is just another arm of our oppressive government that seeks to create dependency and enslave americans through overreaching regulation, insurance schemes and bureaucratic entanglement.
Good reading on two schools of thought
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/12/the_democratic_partys_war_on_the_poor.html
January 2nd, 2012 at 5:15 pmWow, I just wish everyone would stop calling it FEMA’s money or Government funds! IT’S TAXPAYER MONEY! Yours and mine and the just keep tossing it in the waste barrel time and time again! Our entire government is a bad joke on us, does anyone really expect any government program to be any better. Come on, this kind of mis-management of our money has got to stop – and now! Ron Paul 2012!
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:30 pmMemories are short for many, but not for me. I went through Hurricane Betsy in 1965. My grandmother and parents prepared us as best we could. It was called “country living” back in the day! We were fairly self-sufficient then. We were surronded by flooding for a week and had no phone, ice, gasoline or kerosene for a couple of weeks, after which it was rationed daily. We had no electrical power for 5 weeks. Again in 1969 Camille was devestating to our area.
I am an Eagle Scout; the Scout motto is “Be Prepared” for any old thing. As I got older, I dedicated time, effort and money to making myself and family prepared. I generally stay ready to move for up to a month on fairly short notice or shelter in place for even longer, especially during hurricane season!
When I speak to short memories, I refer to the facts that New Orleans flooded from Betsy. In fact, the 9th Ward levee breached in nearly the same place during Betsy as it did after Katrina! We had JUST moved from St. Bernard Parish and there was 9 feet of water at the old house. In 1969 Camille devestated the MS coast. People don’t seem to want to recall “bad stuff”. They should have known the possibilities and made some preparations!
Rather than address the questions, I would just say that I prefer to do what is right (for me) and to not rely on Gov’t for help. In my youth, charitable organizations provided assistance for those in need; very ably, I might add.
“Deserving”? I don’t know. That’s God’s purview.
January 2nd, 2012 at 8:04 pmI lost all I owned in Katrina. I had a small gov. flood policy that I had just purchased after living 42 years jn my home. I was told that I did not require flood insurance because of my homes elevation. I paid my insurance co. for 42 years and received nothing from them. My home was first destroyed by a tornado during Katrina and four hours after the storm had past my house was flooded with 7.5 feet of water. Because of the water my insurance co refused to pay. The flood was caused by the United States Army Corps of Engineers project to dig a channel directly into New Orleans and faulty levies constructed by the Corps. I prepared for Katrina, I was not prepared for; my governments response, government projects that caused it, government/political support of the failure of insurance to pay what policy holders paid for, higher insurance rates by companies that did not pay off after Katrina and that declared the single highest profits to date the year of Katrina, I believe in the neighborhood of $65 billion. The help I received after years of fighting, mountains of red tape, legions of untrained, inadequate employees of government agencies, conflicting rules, regulations and policies, starting over 5 times because of lost files – was the right to make a low cost loan that I will pay back. By the way the gov. messed up the loan and to save the deposit I placed on my new home I was instructed to make a bridge loan that would be paid off when they worked out the last loss of my files. When they were finally found a few months later they decided to reduce the amount that they had agreed to and now I have two monthly notes on my home one a at low government rate and one at a high bank rate, both for 30 years. My wife is 67 and I am 65. She is medically retired and I wiil continue to work.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:03 pmAny government program is innefficient, government help and programs should be kept at bare minimum. If funds were given innapropriately they should be paid back,if mistakes were made recipients should pay back. If my employer makes a mistake on my check i have to pay it back. people should prepare, after doing without they will learn to prepare. senor citizens should receive help first then young they are more able to work.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:34 pmI was a victim of Hurricane Rita and while I didn’t get one of those checks for $2,000 that most people seemed to get, I know many people who were covered by insurance who got the money. I know of at least one person whose family got multiple checks because they were gaming the system.
I hope FEMA investigates everybody that got a check that wasn’t needed. They should get the money back with interest.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:29 amThe primary complaint seems to be the inefficiency of FEMA’s response to disaster. We must all keep in mind that this same inefficiency in FEMA and other branches of our federal government is the basis of our freedom. The Constitution and Bill of Rights lay out our freedoms, but it is inefficiency that protects us.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:39 amIm the honest type. If I had the money, I would give it back…HOWEVER…this happened so many years ago, that repayment seems inappropriate. Do you think the government would pay YOU back if this situation were reversed? What’s that phrase? No?????? I think it only fair that the government apply its rules for the general population to itself. Write it off and go on…would make a HECK of a tax break…LOL
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:23 amWe can be prepaired, however when every thing is destoryed, our prepairedness just lost. If FEMA is to help in a distaster, are we sure we want help from FEMA. They seem be be the last of all government agencies I would want to be depending on. The big question is Why is FEMA allowed to be managed so poorly?
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:35 amThis is exactly why FEMA should be disbanned.
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:32 pmThe workers are drones bees doing lousy work and a drain on the taxpayer funded treasury.
Go bakc to calling it Civil Defense and doing only what CD did.
Emergency PREPARATION not buckets of money after the fact.
Hey peope,
Get the hell out of the flood zones that are literally below sea level.
This isn’t Holland for cryin’ out loud!!
I have yet to see a single Government Agency that is not corrupt, inefficient, and (frankly) a disgrace to the American Government and the people who have allowed them to continue.
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:38 pmTake care of you and yours.
I have several problems with this whole scenario. First and foremost, this is a glaring indication of how broken the system is. Whether the checks were taken through fraud or clerical error, it doesn’t matter – that much money should not have been dispersed so recklessly. Should people be forced to pay back the money this many years later? Personally I don’t think so because it’s just going to be paid back to a system that will recklessly distribute it during the next disaster. They will save more fixing the system, then going after individuals for a refund.
When I make financial mistakes, I don’t get my money back, I learn from them so I don’t make them again. FEMA should do the same.
January 4th, 2012 at 8:47 amThat is why you would be better off fending for your self,then deal with FEMA.
January 4th, 2012 at 2:06 pmI know with a disaster like Katrina would be hard not to take the help.It was nice of the U.S.Government to hold back for 5 days and let people die.
So with that kind of help?No thank you.