Posted on 01/29/2006 2:17:44 PM PST by Uncle Sham
Don't leave us to foreclosure Sunday, January 29, 2006 Here in a community full of ruined homes, it takes no imagination to predict an epidemic of foreclosures that could devastate families, cripple the recovery of greater New Orleans and strain the nation's economy. If your flood insurance payout isn't nearly enough to cover your mortgage, you wonder if you'll have to abandon your unlivable home. If you look down the block at a dozen other damaged houses and know that your neighbors are in the same bind, you understand the fear of losing your neighborhood to blight. If you travel daily past block after block of empty, flood-marked houses, you understand how large the hole in our economy could become. This explains why U.S. Rep. Richard Baker is not giving up on his proposal for a federally backed buyout of flooded-out homeowners and small business owners. He wants Congress to create a corporation that would release Hurricane Katrina's victims from their mortgages, sell bundles of property to developers and help get storm-ravaged land back into commerce.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
To the ones who were too stupid to insure their homes, screw 'em. I'm sick of paying for other peoples stupidity.
L
By August 1927, when the flood finally subsided, the disaster had displaced about 700,000 people. Twenty-six thousand square miles were inundated to depths up to 30 feet, levees were crevassed, and cities, towns and farms lay waste. Crops were destroyed and industries and transportation paralyzed.
At a time when the federal budget barely exceeded $3 billion, the flood, directly and indirectly, caused an estimated $1 billion in property damage.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/Offices/pa/photos/27%2520Flood%2520Victims.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/RELEASES/02-06_1927_Flood_Anniversary2.htm&h=527&w=803&sz=112&tbnid=PHkVVXq_h9DXQM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=142&hl=en&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dflood%2Bof%2B27%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D
It's not our problem to deal with. It's their problem. It's their banks problem, actually.
I'm sorry they lost their homes, I really am. But it's not the Federal Governments job to clean up after stupid people. It's called 'insurance'. You might want to look into it.
You might also want to look into not building your home in a known flood plain in the middle of hurricane alley. Both of those were pretty stupid decisions.
I know when I bought my home, I got some free Flood Plain maps from my County. I checked with my homeowners insurance company and went over in detail what was covered in a standard policy, and what I had to pay extra for.
I also went over in detail the various Flood Plain maps that my County provided free of charge to make sure I wasn't below sea level or anything, or near levees, or in a hurricane zone. I do live in an area that gets tornadoes pretty frequently, so I purchased some extra coverage to make sure that my home and belongings are adequately insured.
It's an old, outmoded concept called personal responsibility. You might want to look into it. But I suppose it's easier to stand there with your hand out blaming all your troubles on Bush, or a racist hurricane, or hard hearted ugly conservatives who insist that people be held accountable for their actions or lack thereof.
Here in western IL when we had the big floods a few years back the insurance companies paid off what they had to and informed the homeowners that no more coverage would be forthcoming if they rebuilt in flood plains. As a result my state has mitigated what could have become a significant problem by using just a bit of common sense. Pretty astounding for Illinois I know, but it did happen.
Now if you drive down the Great River Road you will still see homes along the river banks, but none of them can be insured for flood damage and the owners know that they are on their own in the event of flooding.
Pretty simple.
So, let's review shall we?
Don't build in flood plains.
Don't build below sea level in a known hurricane zone.
Adequately insure your property.
And don't come crying to the rest of us if you ignore these pretty simple rules and your property gets destroyed. If you want money, hold a damned bake sale.
L
One red cent that is spent to rebuild below sea level is a poor 'investment'.
Yup. Just imagine what it would be in "constant dollars".
A FAR worse catastrophe than Katrina for Louisiana, though adding in the effects of Rita hitting southwest Louisiana, then the effects "might" approach the impact of the 1927 flood.
Why do you seem to think that we don't have insurance down here. Everyone I know has it.
"It's an old, outmoded concept called personal responsibility. You might want to look into it. But I suppose it's easier to stand there with your hand out blaming all your troubles on Bush, or a racist hurricane, or hard hearted ugly conservatives who insist that people be held accountable for their actions or lack thereof."
I haven't said anything about this hurricane being "racist". I'll gladly say it right here for the world to see that Bush has been every bit the screw-up Nagin and Blanco have been. He's had five months to get the proper type of assistance down here and has failed miserably not only in Louisiana but in Mississippi as well. In addition to FEMA being a joke, it has wasted more money on some of these large contracts than any Louisiana politician could ever have stolen. Responsibility" requires that someone research all of the facts about an issue before passing judgement. You're not interested in the facts, so you'd never know about it. You, being a Bushbot would never see it that way of course and say that everything wrong down here is entirely the fault of Nagin and Blanco. You are simply wrong.
As to the "looking for a handout", you are the one who expects something for nothing here. You expect people to live down in New Orleans to unload ships so you can have cheap goods to buy. You expect people to live down in New Orleans to load ships so your products can be sold for a bigger profit. You expect them to live in New Orleans while not providing a safe levee system to protect them and their families. You expect people to work the oil fields of south Louisiana so your fuel cost is cheaper while the protection that their coastline once afforded them is being destroyed by offshore pipelines. You want all the benefits with none of the responsibility. That's sounds like a hand out to me.
"And don't come crying to the rest of us if you ignore these pretty simple rules and your property gets destroyed. If you want money, hold a damned bake sale."
Lurker, you used up half a box of kleenex on this thread already all by yourself but still insist on insulting those you don't know when arguing your case. You might want to consider buying it in bulk whenever we decide to help ourselves down here and the price of everything we in Louisiana touch goes up a tad. You might not like the type of "bake sale" we come up with cuz you'll be the one stuck eating the cake.
BTW, What is your shirt size?
Do us a favor. Try making some sense, ok?
Until you can, stfu.
L
Yea, they're paid. Where do you want them to live? in some sort of barracks or camp compound right next to the docks? Like I said, YOU want THEM to live in an unsafe city just so YOU can have cheap goods. What are you, a king or something?
But, they might want to look into not building in a flood plain below sea level.
What's so difficult about that coneptually? Why can't you grasp it? Do you think you have some God given right to live whereever you want? Do you think you have some God given right to other peoples money when you f*** up and do something stupid?
Where does this attitude come from? Who instills it in people like you? Why on Earth do you think you have the right to plunk your ass down where ever you want and then expect the rest of us to pay for your mistakes?
Over 80 billion dollars has been allocated for your 'relief', with more on the way and yet you still have the balls to say it isn't enough, or it's not the way you want it, or it's not being spent the way you think it should.
Hey, here's a clue for you pal. We have floods where I live. WE JUST DOWN LIVE IN THE FLOODPLAINS! It's not that hard. Take your insurance settlement, and go live somewhere else!
What is that so difficult for you to understand? Cash the check, take the hit, and move on for Gods sake. Go live in LA, they have ports there, or try New Jersey, or New York, or Miami. (no not Miami, they have hurricanes, too and we'll just have to listen to you piss and moan all over again.)
So, let's review.
The American people are not required to subsidize your life.
It's stupid to build below sea level.
It's stupid to build in a flood plain.
It's stupid to build in hurricane zone.
It's especially stupid to build somewhere that meets all three of the above criteria.
It's stupid to expect the rest of us to bail you out when something bad happens because you did any or all of the above things.
And finally, it's immoral to demand that others pay so you can go on doing all the stupid things that got you into this mess in the first place.
Like I said, take your insurance money and move somewhere else.
L
Like most of the rest of you, I used to not know, or care much, about the Byzantine intricacies of foreclosure or federal involvement therein.
Very complicated. Take a look at the blow-by-blow description of the Whitewater debacle sometime.
What are you talking about? Where'd you get the idea that the people who didn't have enough insurance all had federally guaranteed loans? No doubt many of them are either poor or stupid, but that doesn't necessarily mean they didn't have conventional mortgages.
----LMAO
What is it with these people?
I've got to admit that this thread got me to break one of my personal rules. Never argue with idiots. They just drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
However, it is sad to see folks who undoubtedly think they're conservatives try to rationalize that it's ok for them to stick their noses in the Federal trough.
You know how I feel about his. If they had insurance privately or through the Fed, then take the check and move on. If they didn't, tough kimchee.
I'm getting really tired of Federally Subsidized Stupidity.
L
Fannie Mae has been purchasing conventional mortgages since 1978 and selling them as mortgage backed securities, as does Ginnie Mae and Freddie Mac.
I would guess that most of the mortgages on the properties in the worst-hit neighborhoods were low-dow- payment targetted at low income and moderate income buyers, especially minorities. Wouldn't you>
Yessir!
You nailed it!
ROTFLOL!
That was TOO funny!
I've been around. Mostly lurking. I still check FR regularly whether I'm posting or not.
I'm getting really tired of Federally Subsidized Stupidity.
You and me both. I just kind of shrug it off nowadays though. I'm 44 years old with no kids; so I'll probably be dead before the shit really hits the fan, and I don't particularly care what happens after that.
Did I read you saying that your son is now 11 years old? Holy moly. I swear last time I talked to you he was like 7 or 8. Time flies, eh?
Great to see you too. :-)
Ginnie Mae buys the federally guaranteed mortgages. Freddie and Fannie buy mortgages that aren't federally guaranteed. Regardless, this Baker guy wants us to pay off the mortgages of people who don't even have government-backed loans, meaning additional billions on top of what we're already on the hook for. No way in hell that's gonna happen.
I guess the best I can do is point out to him when someones doing something really stupid and say 'don't do that Tyler, it's really stupid'.
Yes, he just turned 11 a few weeks ago. Hard to believe isn't it. Oh well, We're just doing the best that we can with what we've got.
It's kind of funny. Clan Lurker spent several days packing up relief supplies for these folks in NO as I said above. Tylers school put a bunch of stuff together for it, too. Our effort was directed at Mississippi as it seemed they kind of got overlooked by the press. The county we sent stuff to was pretty much completely devastated.
We got some nice letters from the folks down there telling us how much they appreciated the goods we sent. L Jr has a picture of a class of kids who got the school supplies they put together. It wasn't much, just some things like pencils, paper, backpacks, and a pile of Barnes and Noble gift cards so they could buy books. The school said that kind of thing was what was needed most, so that's what we sent.
I swear Sandy, some days I don't know whether to crap or go blind. You know what I mean? This idiot UncleSham here is a prime example. Dear God in Heaven...80 billion dollars in US taxpayer money, and still they want more. Like somehow I'm responsible for paying for his house or something.
I'm really sorry those folks got wiped out, and we've done a lot to help 'em out but all they want is more, more, more. And if we don't just say 'ok here's the keys to the Treasury' then I'm the ugly mofo.... Where in the hell did that come from?
Oh well, you and I both know where it came from. That's the pity.
Damn....some days I wish I didn't have a young 'un. Then I could just not give a rats fat ass what's coming down the pike. It would make things easier for me.
You take care Sandy. It's really good to see you about again. I hope all is well with you.
L
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