FEMA reimbursements mainly benefit higher income groups

[Thom Little]

A FEMA program to reimburse applicants for generators and storm cleanup items has benefited middle- and upper-income Floridians the most and so far cost taxpayers more than $332 million for the past two hurricane seasons, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found in a continuing investigation of disaster aid.

For Wilma alone, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had spent $84 million as of last Monday on generators for 101,028 people in 13 Florida counties, including Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade. Another $6 million paid for chain saws for 27,394 applicants.

"I see people making $200,000 a year putting in for a rebate for a generator," Davie Fire Chief Don DiPetrillo said last month, as the town scrambled to open a shelter for people left homeless by Wilma. "This is just not a good use of public resources."

.......

For the four Florida hurricanes in 2004, the reimbursements amounted to $242 million. Eighty percent of the money went to applicants in middle- and upper-income areas, including 45 residents of the moneyed island of Palm Beach and 221 people in a posh Orlando suburb with sprawling estates on lakes and fairways.


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-fema11xdec11,0,167093.story?coll=sfla-news-front

[VegasWolf]

1. Color me shocked and confused!!!

:sarcasm:

[acmavm]

2. Yeah, I'm with you.Who would have ever thought that the poor and

defenseless, those that need to most help for lack of anywhere to turn, would be the ones that are totally neglected and ingored by this administration?

But then again, and to answer my own question, anyone paying attention to the corruption of this administration would have known this as being standard operating procedure for this crew of liars, thieves, and traitors.

[Canuckistanian]

4. Oh.I am so surprised.

I did not expect this at all. Who could have guessed that this would happen. Absolutely no one saw that this was coming. Oh dear.

:banghead:

[ShockediSay]

3. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities

Some things just don't change.

[Gemini Cat]

5. Big surprise!

I hate these 'let them eat cake' people.
:mad: :grr:
Meanwhile a lot of people are still living in tents, if they can even get tents to live in!

[ticapnews]

6. For many of these people...

even cake sounds pretty good right about now...

[The Flaming Red Head]

9. Let them eat cake? Off with their heads!

I’m ready for a revolution.

[PDJane]

7. And most are being forced to pay

for the rental units that they can't occupy or which are sub-standard....which just leaves me gobsmacked.

[wakeme2008]

8. grrr only in Jebbie's state

When the couple told FEMA they couldn't afford a generator, a worker suggested she go to a hospital if she ran out of oxygen. Dolores Morris said she conserved the supply she had in portable tanks and tried "not to get upset" so she wouldn't breathe too much

[pitohui]

10. problem w. stories like this

if wealthy do not participate in our programs, then the programs will be ended for all, not just the wealthy

all we have to do is look at the sorry state of our public schools where wealthy and upper middle class withdraw their support for education, then the poor do not suddenly have all that education money available just for them -- nope -- the schools just don't get funded at all

in this news story, if you actually read the whole thing, they mention that north carolina ended their program for ALL unless it could be proved "medically necessary," which means that in the middle of a disaster you would end up arguing w. some official abt whether or not you needed that oxygen tank -- in other words, the situation is no better than in florida, in fact, it is worse, because at least in florida the program is available to help the middle class

they said in virginia the program was ended for ALL, no mention made of even the provably seriously ill being able to get generators, how many people will that policy kill?

i guarantee you that a middle class family w. a couple of young kids, just starting out, or a middle class family w. even one chronically ill family member has nothing extra, and that if FEMA won't aid w. the generators, chain saws, etc. then indeed they won't be able to be purchased & some of those families will indeed end in shelters that might have otherwise been able to stay in their homes

if 45 rich unnamed celebrities are really ripping off FEMA, let those celebrities be exposed to public scorn but this type of article will cause the program to be ended for everyone, there are a great many millionaires living in my zip code, a great many, prob. more than there are lower middle class people like me & a few of my immediate neighbors, should i be denied assistance in a disaster because i have a nice zip code?

is the goal to help no one at all lest once in awhile some undeserving bum take advantage? or is the goal to help as many people as possible, w. as little paperwork as possible? while i am jumping hoops to prove my generator is "medically necessary," maybe my elderly relative will simply lay down & die & spare the state the expense?