Comments on: FEMA's "Toxic Bureaucracy"

CBS Evening News: Are FEMA Managers Holding Up Aid To Hold Onto Their Jobs?

[piercetheval]

...they don't call it the 'Big Easy' for nothing, ya'all.

[888irish]

"Today, nearly $4 billion intended to rebuild the Gulf Coast remain unspent."

If they can't rebuild the levies, so they will hold out the water, then they shouldn't be rebuilding New Orleans. They should take that money and help people relocate. New Orleans should never have been built there to begin with.

[livinNOLA]

The people working for FEMA here in NOLA are both Republican and Democrat. Mainly, they hired anyone who wanted a job, regardless of education or qualifications or political party. I know this from personal experience in dealing with hundreds of them. It only took them 53 weeks to correct a $12,000 error in our grant toward rebuilding our home. Thankfully, we were living within our means and had no other debt but the house at the time of this disaster. We were able to use up all of our own personal savings to get the rebuilding started without having to wait on the Federal Government - because had we had to wait on them, we would still be waiting with nowhere to live. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful to the Government and all of us who pay taxes for the little financial help we have received from FEMA and our Flood Insurance. And I am even more grateful to the SBA for loaning us the extra funds we needed to refinance and rebuild our house: higher, stronger and more energy efficient. But FEMA has done nothing but make this entire process a living (-)&(( and drag it out WAY LONGER than it ever needed to be drug out. They could have saved billions of our tax dollars simply by giving everyone whose house flooded the full $150,000 grant from day one and let us determine individually whether or not we would spend that $$$ on rebuilding our house, drugs or alcohol, a fancy car, moving the family to higher ground, relocating the family due to our job being relocated, or whatever. Instead, FEMA paid roofers $150/square to put blue tarps on people's houses when the going rate was $35/square for shingles. They hired plumbers and electricians for 2-3 times the going rate to get their jobs done, which pushed the cost of rebuilding through the roof for us hard working, tax paying homeowners trying to regain our lives. My family lived in a FEMA trailer for over 16 months - and I am grateful for that tiny life adventure because I did not have to pay our mortgage and SBA loan AND rent during that time. But, FEMA paid people to "inspect" our trailer once a month. These people would not come for 3 months, and then one week they would leave 3 notices on our trailer door in the same week that they had come to inspect but we were not at home (they always came on Wed evenings when we were at church - making overtime I am sure). They still got paid for inspecting our trailer, but they never inspected it the entire 16 months! Don't even get me started. There is so much FRAUD and WASTE going to pay FEMA employees for doing nothing that it makes me sick to think about it so I have to leave it and go back to find my "happy place" and remember how grateful I am to this country for helping us to rebuild our house, no matter how much distress and ineptness and red tape we have had to endure for the past 3+ years to get the job done.

We can only blame this total disaster on ourselves. And shame on all of us for trying to put the blame on one particular political party. We all need to learn to shake hands and make up and work together to fix this mess we have gotten ourselves into over the past several decades and presidential administrations. This is our country, not mine or yours. So let's stop this childish bickering and learn to live within our means and help our neighbors in need responsibly. I did not vote for Obama, but I think he will do a great job IF the rest of us can stop placing blame and listen to him and learn to truly embrace one love, one country, one United States of America, Under God.

[missingamerica]

Something I bet a lot of you didn't know - another example of Republican double-dealing.

Right before that last administration left office, they reclassified state employees who inspect nursing homes for the federal government as federal employees.

Now the kicker is that such Federal employees aren't allowed to provide "privileged" information or documents to the public without approval from the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

What does that mean to you?

Now if the management and/or workers at the nursing home injure or kill your grandma through neglect or malicious intent, it will be almost impossible for you to get any information proving that it was an on-going situation that even the inspectors were aware of.

Sweet, huh? Yup, them Republicans are truly "family-oriented" - unless it is your family.

[ubrew12]

independenti said: "And you liberals still want the government controlling your health care decisions right? "

It works everywhere else. We pay the highest in health care, get some of the worst, and still have 40 million uninsured. Its estimated that 30% of our health care cost is WASTED. Of course you'd be plugging the status quo on that one.

[missingamerica]

And you liberals still want the government controlling your health care decisions right?

Posted by independenti at 5:38 PM : Feb 25, 2009

How conveniently you righties overlook the fact that government, just like a handgun, is only a tool - and it only becomes dangerous in the hands of those with malicious intent.

These FEMA officials are Republican hires and appointees - so of course they abuse the people their jobs demand that they care for.

For that is the Republican creed: Government, like Busines, exists to enrich the select few, and to hell with the American people.

[lagunagal]

python......

Cogent retort. Care to elaborate?

LG

[Syndicate]

Who do you think is running this? Republicans? In New Orleans?

[lagunagal]

Yo thor!

If we the Democrats really wanted to clean up this mess why did the stimulus not have one word about New Orleans or Katrina?

Perplexing? You bet and getting more by the hour.

[chetthor]

IT'S TIME FOR THE DEMOCRATS TO CLEAN UP ANOTHER MESS....