the extremely effective US Govt.

[Kramer]

so Ike hit a month or so ago. anyone in the area can apply for FEMA. so because we still have a 30 foot tree trunk in our yard b/c we are having to save up to get rid of it and because we lost my kids swing set and will have to replace a fence and the insurance deductible is more than the total cost would probably be ($1300) i thought i would see if i could use some of my tax money to defray some of the cost. i didn't expect to get anything, and sure enough i qualified for low interest loans which were totally useless, whatever.

then, today something happened.

to give some background, one of the 18-22 yr old clients who are in an apartment living program b/c they were homeless and we are trying to help them get back on their feet, applied for FEMA help also. this individual incurred not a dime of damage he had to pay for. his apartment was flooded but he was simply moved to a new apartment, no problem.

HE GOT A $1428 CHECK FROM FEMA. STRAIGHT CASH.

for no reason other than he was "poor", even though he is being supported by several non-profits.
i have 2 kids, a mortgage, a car payment, student loans and scrape to pay everything on time and i was offered lowinterest loans.......

not sure why i am shocked, guess i am mostly just aggravated.

(thought this would fit here b/c it had to do with a gvt. agency and a recent disaster)

[Drem]

that's ridiculous

[Diekan]

so Ike hit a month or so ago. anyone in the area can apply for FEMA. so because we still have a 30 foot tree trunk in our yard b/c we are having to save up to get rid of it and because we lost my kids swing set and will have to replace a fence and the insurance deductible is more than the total cost would probably be ($1300) i thought i would see if i could use some of my tax money to defray some of the cost. i didn't expect to get anything, and sure enough i qualified for low interest loans which were totally useless, whatever.

then, today something happened.

to give some background, one of the 18-22 yr old clients who are in an apartment living program b/c they were homeless and we are trying to help them get back on their feet, applied for FEMA help also. this individual incurred not a dime of damage he had to pay for. his apartment was flooded but he was simply moved to a new apartment, no problem.

HE GOT A $1428 CHECK FROM FEMA. STRAIGHT CASH.

for no reason other than he was "poor", even though he is being supported by several non-profits.
i have 2 kids, a mortgage, a car payment, student loans and scrape to pay everything on time and i was offered lowinterest loans.......

not sure why i am shocked, guess i am mostly just aggravated.

(thought this would fit here b/c it had to do with a gvt. agency and a recent disaster)

It'll get worse when Obama is elected - which he's got the election wrapped up now.

[Arlos]

And you base that on what proof? Hmmmm?

-Arlos

[Kramer]

yeah, the system is broken, and it's not as if the pubs have been trying to disasemble FEMA... come one now.

the issue is that Government shouldn't be in the business of doing what non-profits could be doing, in my opinion, which is one point of the libertarian platform that i fervently stand by....

let's remember that it was under Bush when the refugees from Katrina that made a small city in Reliant Park were given F*&%^ING ATM DEBIT cards with over $1000, which were then used to go to the Galleria and buy Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc... while they carried around babies who had on rags. (i know this b/c i did crisis counseling there and spoke with sevreal Houston PD officers that told me about the day or two when they handed out the cards)

[ClakarEQ]

Not saying he didn't play the system, but I have to ask, why did he apply? Is it becuase he was looking for a free handout?

Diek, it wouldn't change under McCAin dumb ass (good god you're such a stupid fuck at times LOL).

Kramer, is this guy someone you know or just someone / something you heard about? Does he have a job, did he lose his job, etc. AGain, I am not saying the guy didn't play the system, it sure sounds like it. but if you don't know all the details, then you really don't know.

Regardless of whos system gets put in, there will always be hackers to break or cheat it.

[Kramer]

no, i know this person very well, i am his therapist/counselor i see him weekly and know his financial/living situation very well. there are 5-6 folks living in the apartment living program and i see them all each week and talk with their program director each week about them.

i certainly don't fault him for playing the system, i might have done that when i was 20-22, though probably not because it would be embarrasing for me to tell people i got a govt. handout, i am more aggravated at the system, not at the person who says "hey someone wants to give me $1400? well, why wouldn't i let them do that?"

i think the issue is more cultural, people in general feel that the part of the govt.'s job is to take care of it's citizens in methods beyond acting out of the 3 branches exemplified in D.C. which leads them to fund Social Security the 10's of thousands of other govt. agencies city/county/state/federal that exist to help the many iterations of what people see as "less fortunate" in the population. i think the system foundationally doesn't work.

[Eziekial]

Yet, the only thing I hear out of either major party is "We need more money in (insert pet program) to help our fellow Americans!"