Road Home rescue unlikely, Powell says

[funkybutt]

Source: Times Picayune, New Orleans

WASHINGTON -- With New Orleans homeowners telling a Senate subcommittee Thursday that displaced residents are giving up hope because of continued delays in the state's Road Home program and projections the program is running out of money, a key Bush administration official suggested that more federal money to bail out the program is unlikely.

he gave a strong hint that such additional money will be a hard sell, telling the subcommittee that the overruns were caused largely by the state's decision to "unilaterally, independently and fundamentally" change the program to cover wind damage as well as flood damage.

Read more: http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1180078623155350.xml&coll=1

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So the Federal Government wants to play the Wind versus Flood game that has allowed insurance companies to get out of paying millions in claims.

Now, how much money was in that spending bill that passed yesterday? If Louisiana could get half of what is spent in Iraq over a few months, we could get back on our feet. It's been almost 2 years since Katrina, people are struggling, living in trailers, garages, and cars. The elderly are dying at an astounding rate. We are TAX Paying American Citizens. What's happening here is NOT RIGHT!

[cspanlovr]

1. C-Span 2 is showing a hearing from yesterday RIGHT NOW about the Road Home Program!

[Suich]

5. I just turned it on and want to slap that ICF woman

upside across the head. She sits there and spouts all these figures which do not mean a thing!

:grr:

[Miss Chybil]

2. Shameful. nt

[funkybutt]

3. Nice Guy Huh?

Heckuva Job Powell

[Suich]

4. The Road Home Program is a joke...

The bigger joke is ICF, who is administering the funds. They have one excuse after another.

Hang in there, funkybutt! You have not been forgotten!

:hi:

[Maraya1969]

6. NO MONEY LEFT BUT DON'T ROLL BACK THOSE TAXES!

[azureblue]

7. Amen to that

It is sick that Bush spends, loses, and wastes millions & billions in Iraq, yet somehow can't find the dough to fix the Crescent City. Sick, sick, sick.

And, once again, true to form, Bush blames everyone but himself for the ruin he brought upon New Orleans. Somehow this sick person thinks that, by blaming others for his screw ups, people will forget that he is the cause of it all. The hell we will.

And our dear Dem leaders used money for New Orleans as an excuse to pass Bush's war funding bill yesterday. Sick again- they should have never put that rider in the bill- they knew it was a fish hook, but they used it to cover for their cave in. You know the money will never show up, or if it does, it will be 2010 when it does. The Dems should be ashamed for ignoring New Orleans, for refusing to deal with the repairs in a realistic way.

You got that right- What's happening in New Orleans is not right. Not from before katrina, when Bush stole the money to update the levees to cover for the tax breaks he gave to his rich friends, to his failure to put rescue efforts in place before the storm, to his ignoring New Orleans' please for help, to playing politics with Blanco & Nagin over help, to refusing help from other countries, to lying about his failure to help & trying to blame it on others, to refusing to get help after the storm, to not getting money to rebuild.

Bush has no soul, and he will rot in hell.

[Rage for Order]

8. They shouldn't cover wind damage

That's what homeowner's insurance is for. They should cover the flood damage that was caused by the levee failures since the Army Corps of Engineers was responsible for ensuring the levees and pumps operated properly, but if you live in a region of the country that's prone to hurricanes and you elect not to carry wind and hail coverage, do you really deserve a bailout? If they cover wind damage, what's the point of anyone having anything but fire insurance on their home? The precedent would be set that if you lose your house and have no insurance the taxpayers will bail you out.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. The Gentrification Of Nola.

mf'ers

[ninkasi]

10. What's happening is an outrage

The huge embassy in Iraq seems to have plenty of money, though, doesn't it? Does the government really think that a home blown away by the wind is less damaged than one damaged by floods? Are victims of killer tornadoes told sorry, it was the wind, but there was no flooding, so, you're SOL? This is just one more outrage out of many. I hate these people who are ruining our country. Neocons belong in prison.

[Rage for Order]

11. Just to be clear, are you saying....

If someone lives in "Tornado Alley" and does not carry insurance that covers tornadoes, we taxpayers should be prepared to bail them out when their home gets blown away by a tornado? Similarly, if people live in a region known to get struck by hurricanes and they elect not to carry insurance to cover wind damage caused by hurricanes, we taxpayers should be expected to bail them out too?

[ninkasi]

12. No

What I'm saying is that the destruction of Katrina was so widespread, and devastating, that our fellow citizens need our help. If a home is destroyed in a hurricane, as a taxpayer, I would hope that our tax money would assist equally when that home is destroyed in such a terrible tragedy, and that whether it was destroyed by wind, or water, or both, shouldn't matter.

Katrina was a traumatic thing for the citizens of the Gulf Coast. A great city is in ruins, left to rot. I have more compassion for my fellow brothers and sisters than to quibble over how their lives were ruined. My point is that if we can spend billions on an illegal war, and trillions more giving billionaires tax breaks, we can damn well come up with the money to keep so many of our fellow countrymen homeless and hopeless.

I live just north of Houston, Tx. We have both tornadoes and hurricanes here. We also have some of the highest home insurance rates in the country. Some people, sadly, can not afford all the insurance they need, especially after 6 years of Dubya. Seeing corpses float by as the Smirk stuffed his face with cake and played air guitar was disgusting.

[Rage for Order]

22. It would not be a good precedent

If you're a homeowner, you should have insurance to cover the disasters that are prone to hit your area of the country. I'm not opposed to compensating people who suffered flood damage as a result of the levees breaking because that was a man made disaster. I'm opposed to compensating people who did not have a policy to cover wind damage.

[ninkasi]

23. Sorry, but on this we disagree

My husband and I own our own home, and are insured. I realize, though, that in the current age of paying as little as possible to workers with few skills, some people are not being irresponsible by not having complete coverage, they could be choosing between insurance, or feeding their families.

Until we create a society where every member is cared for, our pooled taxes should go to help those who need help the most. My point is that we spend ungodly sums on war, and other forms of destruction. I do not care to live in a society where the least able, and poorest, are made to suffer from being poor.

I guess your position depends on what kind of a society you want to live in. I don't want to live in one that is mean-spirited, and punishes people for being poor. Like it or not, that is the reality that faces many victims of Katrina, especially. It's hard to pull yourself up by your bootstraps when your feet are unshod.

[whathappened]

13. yes we the so called tax

payers should bale them out , i see where you are coming from , you are thinking cheap and fuck the poor who did'nt have the rich mans insurance , fuck everybody who think the poor in this country don't need a helping hand , we got money for iraq , and all these other nations that have nothing , so why not throw some money into our own country , fuck the tax dollars , it don't mean a thing when it comes to life , think like a democratic person if ya want to try and be a human

[Rage for Order]

16. What are you talking about?

The "rich man's insurance"? I agree with you, we shouldn't be spending hundreds of billions of dollars on iraq, but if one can't afford insurance on the house they live in, they should probably buy a smaller house or rent until they can afford everything that goes with owning a home.

[funkybutt]

14. Most DID carry homeowners

But homeowners insurance company is refusing to pay what it costs to fix a roof. The "game" I referred also consists of prevelant situations where the homeowners insurance seriously low balled the wind coverage estimate claiming it was all caused by flood.

Our homeowners insurance company initially told us the roof needed to be replaced. They told us to get estimates. We did so, put a downpayment on the roof (1/3) then were told that the roof could be repaired for a few hundred bucks. We paid for the roof our of our own pockets, still no resolution.

This is a VERY common issue here. Some didn't carry insurance but most did, but either didnt' carry enough or were screwed over by the insurance companies.

http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/05/insurers_may_be_asked_to_make.html

[Rage for Order]

18. That's different funky

I empathize with the Katrina victims. I lived on the MS Gulf Coast for a number of years, and I have aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who suffered damage or lost their homes entirely. Hopefully the lawsuits filed against State Farm, Nationwide, and the rest will lead to proper adjustment of the claims that were paid. I'm not opposed to those who carried insurance getting assistance. I'm opposed to people who didn't have homeowner's insurance getting bailed out.

[2Design]

15. you would rather spend money on killing people in foreign countries

that the usa invaded without reason - that money could help all our citizens instead of cheney, halliburton and the BFEE - what a typical answer from someone who does not support the usa.

[Rage for Order]

17. LOL...How'd you get that out of my post?

Please show me where I said I'd rather spend money killing people in foreign countries.

[madrchsod]

19. when is the nightmare going to end?

new orleans is one of the most important cities in the usa. i guess america can afford to do without the the gateway to the mississippi and ohio rivers...

[youngdem]

20. New Orleanian here

I work in development/construction/revitalization.

Let me tell you that if this program is not fully funded, it will DESTROY the city. Two-thirds of homes in the majority of New Orleans still sit empty, waiting for this program to do what they promised.

For them to do this now is disgusting. It has been CLEAR POLICY from day 1 that the Road Home program would bridge the uninsured gap of homes damaged by Katrina.

Repuke led Mississippi got FOUR TIMES the benefits per person that Louisiana did, so they could cheap out, help a Repuke look good, and destroy a Democratic district and minority city.

I hope to God the rest of this country does not let this happen. A great city will DIE, and that is no exaggeration. The city will continue to be 2/3 vacant, and full of crime.


PLEASE help us DU. Don't let this happen. Bush stood on Jackson Square in the weeks after Katrina and promised to stay and do whatever it takes, as long as it takes, to bring this great city back. Let's hold this piece of shit to his word.

[ninkasi]

24. Let me tell you how I see it

I have never been to New Orleans, although it has long been a wish of mine to go. To me, New Orleans was the most magic, the most mystical, city in this country. It was old, very old, with an incredibly rich history. I always thought of Mardi Gras, the restaurants, the music, the French Quarter, old, old mansions, hidden by huge oaks, and veiled by Spanish moss.

By not funding rebuilding the city, we will lose a cherished part of ourselves. To put it bluntly, one of the reasons the Bush administration is neglecting New Orleans is because a huge part of the population was poor, and black. They see, and salivate, over visions of "re-gentrification", of gaining access to desirable parcels of property which our government has refused to aid in rebuilding.

What's sad, other than the abandonment of our fellow citizens, is that by recreating a New Orleans populated by affluent whites, our country will loose the beauty of the once proud city. New Orleans, with a white, Protestant, conservative population, will be just another place with a lot of white, affluent people. There will be no magic, no myth, nothing.

By driving out the poor, the majority, the ones who made the city work it's magic, we will be driving a a stake in the soul of this magnificent city. I can't be certain of too many things, but of one thing, I'm sure. A largely white, affluent city, especially one populated by conservatives, can be many things, but it can never, in a million years, be magic.

[Decruiter]

25. Disneyland, Six Flags over New Orleans. Get over it. It is done.

After this week you still believe any single one of us can make one bit of damned difference? NO.

So sad, don't mean to be negative. It is the way the people with money want it. New Orleans will never ever be the same. I'm so very sorry. The people that have money in that town are glad to see the 9th Ward be gone.

I wish I could be more positive for you all, I just can't. I know the people with money and they are happy, for the most part.

[youngdem]

21. New Orleanian here

I work in development/construction/revitalization.

Let me tell you that if this program is not fully funded, it will DESTROY the city. Two-thirds of homes in the majority of New Orleans still sit empty, waiting for this program to do what they promised.

For them to do this now is disgusting. It has been CLEAR POLICY from day 1 that the Road Home program would bridge the uninsured gap of homes damaged by Katrina.

Repuke led Mississippi got FOUR TIMES the benefits per person that Louisiana did, so they could cheap out, help a Repuke look good, and destroy a Democratic district and minority city.

I hope to God the rest of this country does not let this happen. A great city will DIE, and that is no exaggeration. The city will continue to be 2/3 vacant, and full of crime.


PLEASE help us DU. Don't let this happen. Bush stood on Jackson Square in the weeks after Katrina and promised to stay and do whatever it takes, as long as it takes, to bring this great city back. Let's hold this piece of shit to his word.

[GeorgeGist]

26. Mission Accomplished