Well, everyone else is on the wagon, so, why not?
"This is why people who study the oceans don't live near them."
Refresh my memory . What list of declared national disasters did not get federal aid?
People in power want to stay in power (usually).
NO
Been through three floods and no one ever gave me a dime
It’s life, and family, churches are more effective
What did they do in pioneer days?
I don’t think money is really the problem here. I’ve seen estimates that private insurance policies would cover at least 50%-60% of the damage, and most of the remaining losses involve public infrastructure that is certainly a government responsibility but may not be a Federal one. The big issue from the standpoint of these states around here is that they were pretty much bankrupt before Sandy formed in the Atlantic Ocean and therefore have a vested interest in pushing off the public expenses onto the Feds.
“Should Sandy’s Victims Get Your Tax Money?”
Better them than those stimulus package recipients and the “green crap” zero has been pushing for four years..
I saw of a lot photos of beautiful beach homes, some of them quite grand and obviously very expensive. Those homes should have been insured by the homeowners who could obviously afford it. I’m sorry for their loss, but that’s the risk you run for building your house on the beach, and that’s what private insurance is for. I live in a big city, and that has risks of its own and that’s why I insure my home appropriately. If my home were robbed, I don’t expect someone in another state to pay for my loss via their taxes.
As for using taxpayer money to pay deductibles and so forth, doesn’t that encourage moral hazard?
And the question is, if you suffer such a disaster and have no insurance, will Uncle Sam ride to the rescue with tax dollars? We know the answer. But why the different treatment?
There is plenty of room to debate whether it is the proper role of government (and the Federal government in particular) to aid in re-building areas devastated by Sandy (and Katrina, and other storms/earthquakes/etc.). But the simple reason there is different treatment of major natural disasters like Sandy on the one hand, and individual houses being struck by lightning on the other, is that the destruction of an entire geographic region (including one of the largest financial centers in the world, and one of the busiest seaports on the east coast) has a much greater economic impact than the destruction of a single house.
If its not your fault, then certainly the government should help you to get on your feet again.
If its the result of something you did, you should do it yourself.
(2) The inhabitants of the communities that were hit have been paying far more in federal taxes than they have been receiving for a very long time. They are not taking other people's money. They are getting a fraction of the money they've already paid, paid back.
Uninsured property owners did not get Federal aid to rebuild in the aftermath of Ike in Texas. No insurance, big problem. Insurance is expensive. These people had to abandon their buildings if they could not fund repairs themselves. Eventually, the localities will tear them down at the owner’s expense.