Subject: Over 1 Million Homeless, Unemployed, Wandering the South...

rrrevolution

(295 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Wed Aug-31-05 10:08 AM
Original message

Subject: Over 1 Million Homeless, Unemployed, Wandering the South...

One of the television anchors just summarized the big picture for George Bush and the other leaders in Washington. Here are some of his comments, and some of my own.

In the next few hours thousands more are going to die due to rising flood waters from the breached levees, and due to being trapped in attics without food and water.

Over 1 million people are now refugees --homeless, without jobs, without means to provide for their subsistence, and wandering the South for months.

Huge numbers of uninsured people seeking medical care for the inevitable health crisis that is coming. Hundreds of thousands will lose their medical health insurance because they lost their jobs. Disease will follow those exposed to the toxic and contaminated floodwaters.

Tens of thousands of displaced children will need to enroll in new school districts.

These people have lost everything except their debt which will follow them wherever they go. They have houses to pay for which no longer exist. Flood damage is likely not covered by most homeowners policies, which means no homeowners insurance proceeds to pay off the mortgage debt still owing. Same with car loans. Not to mention credit card debt. Bankruptcy is likely the only choice for the great majority who have nothing.

Access to bank accounts will be delayed. Mail will pile up somewhere outside the city, and take months to deliver.

The mental health of a million people who will examine what could have been done and what was done, what was communicated by their government officials and what was not disclosed.

Huge numbers of deaths, and the burying of bodies without identification since there is no way to preserve them and stop the spread of disease. If you lost everything, how can you pay the funeral and burial costs -- especially when they cannot be buried in the NO area because of standing water?

AND IT ALL WILL AFFECT EVERY CITIZEN IN THIS COUNTRY.

There will be gasoline shortages. Commerce travelling up and down the Mississipi River will be affected.

es and local governments will have to accomodate these homeless at a time they are already stretched to the limit.

Interest rates will go up on everything as a result of loss of collateral assets and defaults on payment of outstanding loans.

The $26 billion quoted as insurance costs is substantially less than the real costs from loss of homes and infrastructure which were uninsured. Add in deductibles and copays of 25% or more where there is insurance coverage.

None of this even takes into account the cost of rebuilding NO and restoring essential services of electricity, gas, water, sewer, and levees.

THERE IS A REAL QUESTION WHETHER NEW ORLEANS WILL BE REBUILT.

NO, it is a regional disaster covering hundreds of miles of LA, MISS, ALA and FLA before that -- all competing for available government aid, which is already limited. AND THE HURRICANE SEASON IS NOT CLOSE TO BEING OVER.

WE ARE ALL IN THIS DISASTER IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

**Someone better focus on this in Washington and act fast BEFORE the people realize the full extent of what we are all facing.**