Pathetic. At what point, if any, are the government and taxpayers off the hook for 2005's (natural disaster...not man caused) Katrina?
When the upper Midwest was totally flooded recently did those people get to live on the taxpayer dime forever thereafter? Why is it now our responsibility to pay for better lives for these people forever when victims of other disasters get nothing? I don't think that a natural disaster should be a launching board for total government dependence for life for everyone, but its no surprise that *certain* people do. I am happy to see that many of the 30,000 families that were getting "temporary" rental assistance for four years have now stabilized to the point that they no longer qualify. That means they are employed and are taking care of themselves, which means they have dignity and self-respect and they get to feel pride in knowing that they are making it in this crazy world.
What this article showed me was the absolute inability of the government to help people. Look at the examples in the article...private charity has been able to make a difference in peoples' lives when government case workers were not. Three years of government involvement didn’t help, it's only after they are cut off and private charity takes over that these people get the help they need, such as therapy and help navigating the government bureaucracy of applying for disability.
So what did the long-term taxpayer funded aide actually accomplish? Nothing much, people still don't have permanent housing or jobs. People are still getting by in "temporary" situations. What *was* accomplished? A systematic change in thinking from "something bad happened, what can I do to help myself" to "something bad happened, the government caused a hurricane and I want my housing voucher and government check". People are still blaming Bush and demanding financial assistance for life. It boils down to the epic battle between giving a fish and teaching how to fish. The government is great at giving fish but will never teach a man to fish for himself. If all voters could fish for themselves, why would they ever want to vote for a Democrat?
Many of the people hit hardest by Katrina were poverty stricken, homeless and/or had mental illness beforehand. Why is it that the government didn't swoop in before Katrina and give them lifetime support? It's only AFTER the national spotlight caused by a perceived and wholly mistaken accusation that "Bush doesn't care about black people" that they have become adult wards of the taxpayers for life. Thanks Kanye…your publicity stunt worked well. It should come as no surprise that rich Hollywood elites used a natural disaster to attack Bush, when the real responsibility for the craptastic response fell on the shoulders of a black man (Ray Nagin) and a woman (Kathleen Blanco). See, blaming Bush is how liberals celebrate diversity.
Interestingly enough, Kanye West wasn't known for his passion for volunteering in New Orleans soup kitchens before this happened. Think of all the people he could help if he gave 1/10th of his designer clothing and fancy car budget to charity. I guess he doesn't care about poor black people either.
The post-Katrina aide isn't about helping them restart their lives after the disaster, it never has been. It's been years, their lives *have* started over, albeit with better circumstances for many people than they had before the hurricane. If you were one of the thousands of homeless before Katrina, then the hurricane was probably the best thing that could have happened because you now live in a government funded trailer or apartment for life. Let’s face it; a smelly old trailer is better than no smelly old trailer.
There have been PLENTY of disasters in the United States that have displaced people. Nobody can afford to pick of the pieces and start over like this, it's not like the people of New Orleans were different than anyone else in that respect. Why is it that FEMA trailers were temporary in every other disaster, but were literally given to the people living in them three years later? Nope, it's not about righting the wrongs of Mayor Nagin's failed emergency response planning. This is about using the media spot light to give potential voters a reason to shake their heads in disdain at the Bush administration and further the silly stereotype that the GOP is racist and cares more about big business than people. Rehashing this story keeps the headlines from focusing on Michelle Obama's financial schemes to dump poor hospital patients on the street in order to make room for wealthier patients. It distracts the media from the fact that the Democrat created health care plan “forgot” to include *actual reform* in the push to mandate insurance (with punitive threats on the working class), that fills the pockets of the very same rich insurance company CEOs and lobbyists that they villianized to get it passed. Yup-it's the GOP that protects big business at the expense of the little guy....riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
There should have been an attempt to tell the Katrina SURVIVORS (lets stop using the word "victim", the culture of victimology just breeds entitlement) that the government aide and support wasn't lifetime guaranteed and that they needed to use the support to get on their feet while the city was getting put back together. They should have used the last four years of support to gain skills, find employment and make a better life for themselves. Instead, four years later nothing has changed for some people aside from their belief that they now *deserve* government lifetime support.
At what point do we tell these people to take ownership for their own lives?
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