FEMA is too bureaucratic, insensitive and ineffective. Their mission is not clear to most people.
disasters are occurring more often, are more destructive and more expensive. We have to come up with a better model for responding to declared disasters.
Here is what I see:
- the unfairness of those who responsibly pay for full insurance for their property and watch others who did not get insurance receiving free housing, checks, living expenses, etc. at taxpayer expense.
- should we be providing emergency assistance or making people whole? Make everyone whole? Make only the poor whole? What does making them whole mean? Salary for time away from work? New car(s)? New House? New house contents? temporary living expenses?
- When a state has not done necessary infrastructure changes and practices (e.g. seawall, beach erosion replacement, brush clearance, forest management, reservoirs, other water sources such as desalination plants, dams) that could prevent or mitigate the disaster effects, does the federal government owe them support? How much?
- in some disasters, rebuilding will cost way more than expected because of new regulations, inflation, and disaster proofing. Do we, the taxpayers pay for that? And rebuilding may require huge outlays for roads, bridges, replanting, utilities, etc.
Given DOGE and the significant effort to balance the Federal budget and reduce/eliminate the national debt, we must make hard choices and seriously consider every dollar spent.
-if a homeowner cannot afford insurance and taxes, they are living above their means. That is their decision, but can’t see why we should have to pay for their decision.
-where you live is a choice. If you live along the Gulf, you know you will have hurricanes. If you can’t protect your property through upgrades and insurance, don’t live along the coast. The same holds for fire, earthquake, volcano, flood, mudslides, avalanche and tornado areas.
-we have, as a nation, moved toward a less self-reliant, less accountable, less responsible society.
There are some homeowners who are poor, elderly, or disabled who may need more help than your average working family who owns a home. We need to thoughtfully come up with solutions with Federal, States, and charitable organizations working together to provide a suitable framework for determining the level of support provided vs balancing the budget.
It is not just government entities that have to adjust to the current realities. Every individual has to recognize the change in natural disasters and the rising costs may affect their ability to live where they want. We must move more towards self-reliance, accountability and financial responsibility of individuals.
I’ve had a few more thoughts about how we can fund these disasters. the states must cover all or part (maybe 50% or 75%) of the costs of the disaster. That means higher taxes for the residents of those states or even areas of the state (counties on the coast, fire zones, etc). This will also encourage citizens and state governing entities to take prevention and response duties more seriously. The taxes raised for these purposes should be earmarked for the disaster prevention, response and recovery and not be able to be used for other state purposes.