Posted on 12/07/2012 7:53:40 PM PST by Olog-hai
President Barack Obama asked Congress Friday for $60.4 billion in federal aid for New York, New Jersey and other states hit by Superstorm Sandy in late October. Its a disaster whose cost is rivaled only by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2005 Hurricane that devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
Obamas request adds a huge new to-do item to a congressional agenda already packed with controversy on how to resolve the nation's budget woes and avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.
Our nation has an obligation to assist those who suffered losses and who lack adequate resources to rebuild their lives, Jeffrey D. Zients, deputy director of Obamas budget office, wrote to congressional leaders. At the same time, we are committed to ensuring federal resources are used responsibly and that the recovery effort is a shared undertaking.
The measure blends aid for homeowners, businesses, and state and local government walloped by Sandy and comes with just a few weeks to go before Congress adjourns. Whether it passes this month or gets delayed in whole or part until next year is unclear. Most of the money$47.4 billionis for immediate help for victims and other recovery and rebuilding efforts. Theres another $13 billion for mitigation efforts to protect against future storms.
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I think the states should pick up most of it
Why? The states will just ask the fed for a loan, a loan that will never get paid back.
Folks who had the foresight to have flood insurance when they are near the water will be largely reimbursed. Those who chose not to incur the expense of buying flood insurance will not be reimbursed. Each group made their choices—one wise and one foolish. At most, the federal government should make low interest loans available as well as the normal level of disaster assistance. I’m getting the feeling that New York and New Jersey are trying to milk this and actually make huge “profits” off of this storm.
If NY and NJ want to have all their recovery work done by overpaid union workers doing repairs as slow as they can, then the NY and NJ citizens need to be the ones to pay for it.
Beachfront properties in New Jersey typically sell for much more than the Federal Flood Insurance limits. So, no, many aren't fully covered even if they paid for insurance. As to how wise it was to build expensive homes that close to the ocean -- I've asked that question for years. This is not the first time that the NJ barrier islands and low-lying parts of the mainland have been flooded by a hurricane. Residents were lulled into a false sense of security by the lack of any really bad hurricanes for the last few decades.
Tell him “Hey, we won. Stuff it.”
Nope! Sorry, these states voted for Obama, and the Republican Party congress controls the money. Don’t give them a dime, or perhaps take it as a bargaining chip on the current talks. Play hardball with Obama the thief.
Why doesn’t the Kenyan use his own money? He and his family get everything free anyway. They don’t need money. They’re the First Moochers.
Give them everything they want. In nobamaland everything is free...FREE! Give them 10 billion EACH.
No, actually, the federal government doesn't have that obligation.
Just say no.
I don’t see why Obama can’t just use his stash.
You are exactly correct.
Where are the offsets? Is Obama tell them to spend money they don’t have for Sandy? Wasn’t he upset Katrina wasn’t “paid for” ?
I sympathize with home owners. However, if you build next to the Atlantic Ocean, you might well expect to be flooded once in a while. Why should I pay for foolish site planning?
Lived in Sea Bright from 1988 thru 1999. Our house was raised when we bought it, but most were not. We went through several big storms but our house never flooded. Everyone else was flooded and pocketed money each storm instead of raising their homes. People have rolled the dice and won for years.
Cool! Another mini-stimulus, this time in deep blue areas. Just send Bernanke an email for more money printing!
Bath-House Barry doesn’t “ask” for a damned thing-—
He alerts congress about his intentions-like the dictator he/she is.
Cool! Another mini-stimulus, this time in deep blue areas. Just send Bernanke an email for more money printing!
Not to worry. He'll just add that amount to the already agreed upon 700 bln taken from Medicare to finance obammycare.
The old white Europeans are undesireables and thus expendable anyway.
OK, let’s skip the aid to Egypt and instead send the money to our own East coast.....
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