Remember superstorm Sandy? You know, the devastating storm that hit the Northeast last October --5 months ago. The people who live along the shore in New Jersey certainly remember that disaster. So do the folks in New York and Connecticut whose lives were upended by the winds and water. In the aftermath of the storm, president Obama ran to get to the storm damaged area with promises of prompt help but mostly with chances for photo-ops. Then a few months later, Congress was shamed into passing a 62 billion dollar Sandy relief bill (of which less than half was actually designated to help victims of the storm.) But what has actually been done for the bulk of the victims now that the TV lights are gone and the campaign is just a distant memory. Let's look at the performance of the government.
First, we need to consider the federal flood insurance program. As many of you know, the only place to buy flood insurance for your home is through a program supported by the federal government. Indeed, the insurance program is run through FEMA. This morning, I heard an interview with the mayor of a coastal New Jersey community who said that less than 10% of the homeowners in her city have been paid from the flood insurance program. Worse still, almost all of those who remain unpaid have not even been given an offer of compensation for their damage. This is an incredibly poor performance by the government program. Normally, when there is a disaster, the insurance companies send in claims adjusters who review the damage and make a determination as the the loss. It does not happen overnight, but the delay is not usually that long. Waiting a week or two for resolution of a claim is acceptable. Waiting a month for a result is not. Waiting five months and still not having resolution is a total failure by the insurance company, in this case FEMA. Think about it; if you had a damaged house and needed to repair it, you would need to have the insurance funds to pay for those repairs. Even if you were just arranging for the repairs, you would need to know how much you were getting so that you could budget for the cost and select the appropriate level of repairs.
There is no excuse possible for this failure by the FEMA flood insurance program. There is no lack of funds. There can be no lack of personnel to handle claims; after all, Congress approved an extra 62 billion dollars to be spent nearly three months ago. That should have paid for all the personnel needed. It can't be the sequester; that did not start until two weeks ago. The truth is that the FEMA failure is just the latest example of the inability of the federal government to handle chores that private companies handle with seeming ease.
Second, I suggest that you take a drive through some of the devastated areas. Oh, they have been cleaned up some, but they still have many, many homes that look more like piles of rubble than buildings. Where is the federal help? FEMA had more than adequate funds to cover its costs through the end of 2012; that is not my claim but the statement of the FEMA administrator last December. Then came the $62 billion additional amount from Congress, but still there seems to be little action. If this were 2005 and hurricane Katrina, the media would be filled with story after story of the suffering in New Orleans and how president Bush did not like black folks. But this is 2013 and there are more people suffering than were hit in Katrina, but the press is silent. FEMA is failing. The federal government is failing. To be clear, president Obama is failing. Why does he not pay any attention to these folks who remain in devastation?
It is time for someone to speak up. We should "speak truth to power." We should all tell Obama that he blew it. It is time for things to be corrected.
First, we need to consider the federal flood insurance program. As many of you know, the only place to buy flood insurance for your home is through a program supported by the federal government. Indeed, the insurance program is run through FEMA. This morning, I heard an interview with the mayor of a coastal New Jersey community who said that less than 10% of the homeowners in her city have been paid from the flood insurance program. Worse still, almost all of those who remain unpaid have not even been given an offer of compensation for their damage. This is an incredibly poor performance by the government program. Normally, when there is a disaster, the insurance companies send in claims adjusters who review the damage and make a determination as the the loss. It does not happen overnight, but the delay is not usually that long. Waiting a week or two for resolution of a claim is acceptable. Waiting a month for a result is not. Waiting five months and still not having resolution is a total failure by the insurance company, in this case FEMA. Think about it; if you had a damaged house and needed to repair it, you would need to have the insurance funds to pay for those repairs. Even if you were just arranging for the repairs, you would need to know how much you were getting so that you could budget for the cost and select the appropriate level of repairs.
There is no excuse possible for this failure by the FEMA flood insurance program. There is no lack of funds. There can be no lack of personnel to handle claims; after all, Congress approved an extra 62 billion dollars to be spent nearly three months ago. That should have paid for all the personnel needed. It can't be the sequester; that did not start until two weeks ago. The truth is that the FEMA failure is just the latest example of the inability of the federal government to handle chores that private companies handle with seeming ease.
Second, I suggest that you take a drive through some of the devastated areas. Oh, they have been cleaned up some, but they still have many, many homes that look more like piles of rubble than buildings. Where is the federal help? FEMA had more than adequate funds to cover its costs through the end of 2012; that is not my claim but the statement of the FEMA administrator last December. Then came the $62 billion additional amount from Congress, but still there seems to be little action. If this were 2005 and hurricane Katrina, the media would be filled with story after story of the suffering in New Orleans and how president Bush did not like black folks. But this is 2013 and there are more people suffering than were hit in Katrina, but the press is silent. FEMA is failing. The federal government is failing. To be clear, president Obama is failing. Why does he not pay any attention to these folks who remain in devastation?
It is time for someone to speak up. We should "speak truth to power." We should all tell Obama that he blew it. It is time for things to be corrected.
No comments:
Post a Comment