FEMA Has Paid Nearly $3 Billion In Hotel Bills And Rent For The Victims Of Katri

[Texacon]

Purveyor  (1000+ posts)       

Tue Aug-26-08 11:23 AM
Original message

FEMA Has Paid Nearly $3 Billion In Hotel Bills And Rent For The Victims Of Katrina, Rita
HOUSTON—FEMA has paid nearly $3 billion in hotel bills and rent for the victims of Katrina and Rita, according to government statistics.

It’s the costliest emergency housing effort in the country’s history.

Federal aid for the victims is scheduled to expire in March of 2009.

When that happens, many housing advocates worry those who depend on it won’t have anywhere to go.

KHOU: http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou082608_tnt_f...

 

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3858251

EXCUSE ME!  Didn't WE want to cut this shit off a long time ago?!  NOW they are worried because they may be 'depending on it'?  Jeeze.

Purveyor  (1000+ posts)       
Tue Aug-26-08 11:26 AM
Response to Original message

1. According to my math, that $3 billion could have built 40,000 houses at a cost of $75k each...
 Bush league gov't efficiency at its finest...indeed!

Yeah, that's Bush's fault.  DUmass.  WE wanted to cut it off.  See my comment above?

KC

[Wretched Excess]

katrina struck three years ago last week.  is the federal goverment, and thus the us taxpayer, responsible for these people for the rest of their lives? 

[BannedFromDU]

katrina struck three years ago last week.  is the federal goverment, and thus the us taxpayer, responsible for these people for the rest of their lives? 

    Why, yes.

    None of them were living in squalor, on public support before Katrina. They all ran cute, profitable bed & breakfasts and sat on their porches with white suits on,drinking lemonade and fanning themselves with the Times-Picayune.

     Bu$hler killed them so he could build all those new resorts that are now crowding New Orleans. Haven't you heard?

[Wretched Excess]

Purveyor  (1000+ posts)       
Tue Aug-26-08 11:26 AM
Response to Original message

1. According to my math, that $3 billion could have built 40,000 houses at a cost of $75k each...
 Bush league gov't efficiency at its finest...indeed!

because it was a "temporary relief effort" gone bad, which is to say, semi-permanent.  "let's build these people houses" would have never flown, but "let's relieve these people's suffering" was irresistible.  but, yeah, by the time it's all over with, it would have probably been cheaper to just build them all houses.

it's a great argument against activist government, especially an activist central government.  but to pretend like a hypothetical obama administration would have somehow magically solved and insoluble problem is just deluded.

[Ralph Wiggum]

katrina struck three years ago last week.  is the federal goverment, and thus the us taxpayer, responsible for these people for the rest of their lives? 

While flipping by CNN last night, I noticed that a "Katrina surivor" is or already spoke at the DNC.

[Wretched Excess]

katrina struck three years ago last week.  is the federal goverment, and thus the us taxpayer, responsible for these people for the rest of their lives? 

    Why, yes.

    None of them were living in squalor, on public support before Katrina. They all ran cute, profitable bed & breakfasts and sat on their porches with white suits on,drinking lemonade and fanning themselves with the Times-Picayune.

     Bu$hler killed them so he could build all those new resorts that are now crowding New Orleans. Haven't you heard?

that's right.  katrina was caused by global warming was caused green house gases were caused by halliburton was caused by dick cheney was caused by george bush, who lied and people died.  or something like that.

[NHSparky]

At some point the sugar teat has to be cut off.  Better sooner than later.

[Wretched Excess]

katrina struck three years ago last week.  is the federal goverment, and thus the us taxpayer, responsible for these people for the rest of their lives? 

While flipping by CNN last night, I noticed that a "Katrina surivor" is or already spoke at the DNC.

damn.  missed her.   

Margie Perez, a 43-year-old New Orleans funk and blues singer, will deliver a speech Monday night at the convention, recounting her struggles after Katrina decimated the Louisiana city. She'll also talk about meeting Obama a few years ago at the Musician's Village in New Orleans, where she moved after storm.

Perez said she left New Orleans before Katrina struck in August 2005, escaping the storm but losing her home. She had been renting the first floor of a house that was inundated by 7 feet of water.

She said the storm and its aftermath "can't be ignored and it won't be ignored, which is a great thing. The focus of my speech is on New Orleans, but the whole Gulf Coast needs the attention."

I wonder how the poor property owner feels about losing margie's rental property?  eh, you're right, screw him.

[Chris]

She said the storm and its aftermath "can't be ignored and it won't be ignored, which is a great thing. The focus of my speech is on New Orleans, but the whole Gulf Coast needs the attention."

It's not being ignored.  The city planners notified property owners that they had 12 months (this was back in April) to submit rebuilding plans and permits to the city or their property would be bulldozed and re-developed.  Juding from the lack of action by the property owners over the last three years, I think that's the best plan they could have come up with.

[Willow]

keep your eyes on Gustav. Could be another disaster in the making.

[Ralph Wiggum]

keep your eyes on Gustav. Could be another disaster in the making.

Nah, Karl Rove will use his weather machine to send it to 20,000 feet and get it to Denver for Obama's speech on Thursday. 

[jinxmchue]

When that happens, many housing advocates worry those who depend on it won’t have anywhere to go.

Okay, that's the ****ing problem right there.  ****ing worthless leeches.

FEMA WAS NOT MEANT TO BE YOUR GRAVY TRAIN, YOU S.O.B.s!!!!

I will have absolutely no remorse or pity when you are kicked out into the streets.

[Texacon]

We went through Rita here and I saw what happened.  We were hammered pretty hard around here and south east of us.  I watched what happened and how it was handled by FEMA.  They did a good job but we didn't keep them around very long.  We dusted ourselves off, cleaned up the mess and resumed our lives.

This Katrina crap is really getting under my skin.  They make it out to be a cat 5 hurricane which made a direct hit on New Orleans and that never happened.  Fact is Rita was a stronger storm but you won't hear them talking about that because those of us affected by that one moved on.  It doesn't fit into their mold of the man keeping you down.  Or that you can't 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps'.  They HATE it when we take care of ourselves and it pisses me off.

KC

[asdf2231]

Pretty much most of the city was condemned and the buildings have to be leveled before new construction can begin.

And oddly enough noone was in a hurry to rush in and build new housing in a crime ridden empoverished part of the state that is still sitting in a massive ass flood zone.

Go figger.

[TheSarge]

At some point the sugar teat has to be cut off.  Better sooner than later.

These people were already on the federal teat BEFORE Katrina.  What left and didn't come back were the Ward 9 folks and people who found greener (literally) pastures in Houston...Arizona and Utah.

One way or another...even if Katrina hadn't happened...we'd still be supporting the bulk of them with our tax dollars.

[TheSarge]

Mississippi was hit much harder than NOLA by Katrina...yet you don't hear this kind of bitching about the recovery effort there.

[Wretched Excess]

Mississippi was hit much harder than NOLA by Katrina...yet you don't hear this kind of bitching about the recovery effort there.

yes, it was, but I wasn't going to point that out.  I have gotten myself into one "more devastated than thou" argument, and it was just unseemly.  mississippi was definitely an afterthought when it came to relief efforts, though, and we liked it that way.

[debk]

Katrina people in hotel rooms were scheduled to be ousted months ago....I seem to remember at least a year or more ago. Their aid was to stop.

All kinds of people protested "how cruel the government" was being to "those poor innocent survivors" and how could the government make them homeless.

As a result their time for assistance was extended in order to allow them time to "find homes, work, etc".....however...they were "expected" to do that.

No one "forced" them to get their acts together.

So they haven't.

Everywhere else where the hurricanes hit that summer.....picked themselves up, got their acts together, FEMA moved out, and life went on.

[Texacon]

This is where all your (our) money is going.  I hope some of you liberals are lurking.  Do some frickin research!

Metairie man admits Katrina fraud
by The Times-Picayune
Wednesday August 13, 2008, 3:55 PM
A Metairie man faces up to 20 years in prison after admitting Wednesday that he defrauded the Small Business Administration by using Katrina home-repair loans to buy a new car, boat and house.

After the 2005 hurricane, Paul Hunter, 31, filed for two low-interest disaster loans, ostensibly to cover storm-related damage at his home at 1112 N. Bengal Road, and a business, Vella's Coiffure Salon, 6845 Jefferson Highway, Harahan, according to court records.

The SBA approved a $19,500 loan for the house and a $49,600 loan for the business and disbursed an initial $10,000 for each. To receive the balance, Hunter had to show a building permit or paperwork demonstrating that one wasn't needed. He also was supposed to give the SBA any future insurance checks for the damage properties.

Federal prosecutors said that in 2006, Hunter faxed in two building permits that had been obtained before Katrina, making them invalid. One had not been altered, but the date on the permit for his house had been changed from 2003 to appear as if it was issued after the storm, court records said.

Hunter also received $62,692 in insurance proceeds for both properties but did not give the money to the SBA, prosecutors said. Instead, he bought a 2006 Cadillac STS, a boat and trailer and a new home.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance scheduled sentencing for Nov. 12.

Katrina Fraud

There are THOUSANDS of these out there.  Google is your friend .... unless it shows something you don't like ..... like the TRUTH.

KC

[TheSarge]

yes, it was, but I wasn't going to point that out.  I have gotten myself into one "more devastated than thou" argument, and it was just unseemly.  mississippi was definitely an afterthought when it came to relief efforts, though, and we liked it that way.

I look at it more as the leadership and what party they belonged to contributed to the better and more organized relief effort in Mississippi.


They only appeared to be an "afterthought" because they took care of their own...didn't point fingers and just "got it done".

[Willow]

yes, it was, but I wasn't going to point that out.  I have gotten myself into one "more devastated than thou" argument, and it was just unseemly.  mississippi was definitely an afterthought when it came to relief efforts, though, and we liked it that way.

I look at it more as the leadership and what party they belonged to contributed to the better and more organized relief effort in Mississippi.


They only appeared to be an "afterthought" because they took care of their own...didn't point fingers and just "got it done".

You don't hear a peep outta Iowa either and they are still a mess!

[Chris_]

Out here in Colorado, we're still putting pieces back together after our tornado back in May - without FEMA "help" (we didn't qualify for aid, according to FEMA). 

[JohnnyReb]

According to my math THAT'S A LOTTA DAMN MONEY SPENT JUST TO BUILD ASS BUNIONS.