President of Jefferson Parrish denounces FEMA

It is so sad to see the federal government being so worthless in this situation.

 

It is so sad to see so many people believing that the federal government is responsible to take care of all their problems.

 

Easy to say, PG, from high and dry Wisconsin.

 

That has nothing to do with it. It is not the federal govts responsibility to rescue people from their problems; socio-economic, disasters of nature, or any other. Besides, the govt has no money. It is all taken by force from the citizens, and the fed has no right to take money from me or you and give it to someone in NOLA or anywhere else. Davy Crockett gave a tremendous speech on this topic before congress when he was serving the great state of TN in that body.

 

Yes, I read that speech by Congressman Davy Crockett. He was right 175 or so years ago.

But this is 2005. This isn't Davy Crockett's world.

 

Just because someone is not in the middle of a situation doesn't take away their right to an opinion, IMHO.

 

Well, I have an opinion, and I;ve lived through a similar situation.

Had FEMA not stepped in to help us out in Houston after T.S. Allison, we would still be suffering the affects 4 years later.

Regardless of what any far-right winger says, if the government did not collect taxes for this and other purposes, provate donations would not make up for it. There is simply too much destruction.

In 2001, we had over $2 billion in damages to the Texas Medical Center alone. That does not include downtown Houston, any of the other major hospitals put out of commission, or the vast private and public properties damaged in and around Houston.

There were tens of thousands of flooded homes down here, and my family would have gone broke if not for FEMA. Insurance tries to stick it to you anyway they can, and what the insurance company gave my family would not have replaced half of the things we lost, including our home.

Even better, Harris County Flood Control bought the house from us, after the 3rd flood, and demolished it.

We would not be where we are, contributing more tax dollars to the economy than ever before, had the government not stepped in and lent a helping hand.

Maybe it's not the government's job to help those of us in an unfortunate predicament, but I'm sure glad it did anyway.

Private donations to aid in the recovery for New Orleans is around $200 million. The projected cost, it looks like, will be well over that of Andrew, probably even double or triple the cost of that Hurricane. The toll could exceed $100 billion dollars to fix Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. That would be absolutely impossible without money from the federal government.

Many far-right wingers cry foul when the government helps those hit hard by things beyond our control, yet they would be standing in line right with us screaming for federal assistance if the situation were reversed.

Trust me when I tell you, you would be a lot worse off if the government did not step in and help devastated areas. The backlash, loss of jobs and tax revenue, and lawlessness would hit your pocketbook harder than any tax you could imagine.

We are talking about Great Depression type scenarios, and possibly worse.

I hope we do whatever it takes to help those folks devastated by the Hurricane. My family has gathered up clothing and helped a family of 14 that we know who lost everything, including their mother.

It is good for America, in the long run, to help these people back on their feet.

 

Who said it did?

 

A pastor devoid of compassion. Sad.

 

Now there is a judgmental statement made with absolutely no basis. To believe that the Fed ought to obey the Constitution is not a lack of compassion. To forcefully take money from one person and give it to another is not compassion, either on the part of the one taking and giving that which is not theirs, oor on the part of the one having it taken. Simply, compassion is not the role of the govt, it is a command from God to individual believers and churches.

 

Now there's a powerful argument - let's extend it a little - the Bible was written over 2,000 years ago. But this is 2005. This isn't Paul's (Peter's, James', etc.) world...

The U.S. Constitution, on which his argument was based, is even older than his time - 218 years, yet its principles have not changed and are still supposed to govern us today.

 

I used to think as you do, Greg. But after this past week, no more. We are all in this together, working through our elected representatives to lift up those truly in need, through no fault of their own, among us.

 

Why doesnt he attempt to save as many as he can before screaching for firings? Last I checked, people are still on rooftops waiting, and this guy in on NBC playing the blame game. Want to see where the problem really is? Dont look at the water, look at the people standing on dry land.