Don't depend on government to bail you out [Archive]

View Full Version : Don't depend on government to bail you out

flowerseverywhere

9-12-17, 3:47pm

One interesting thing about the recent disasters is amazing. That is people who ignore evacuation orders then call 911 for help. People who knew a category 5 was coming and less than a week later are out of food and water.
In my area they opened shelters. When the storm took a turn for the worse they opened more schools as shelters. People complained there were no beds. Seriously. The schools had food, water, generators and were safe. Someone complained that pet friendly shelters required pets to be in crates.

In these giant disasters officials do their best but how about personal responsibility? Granted many elderly and disabled need help. Some are poor. Some mentally illl. But reading news reports astonishes me.

bae

9-12-17, 3:51pm

I think people overestimate the amount of outside help that is available, and underestimate the logistics involved in delivering it.

Perhaps they watch too many disaster movies?

If Something Big Happens, you may well be on your own for weeks. Or longer. When the Cascadia Fault lets go here in the Pacific NW, it's not going to be pretty.

flowerseverywhere

9-12-17, 4:27pm

bae

9-12-17, 4:52pm

Plus FEMA does not replace your house.

I also don't think people understand what FEMA really is. The key is in their name: Federal Emergency Management Agency. Their mission is to *coordinate* the response to large-scale events. Not to ride in on white horses with big checkbooks and piles of free stuff. They provide support, not primary response, typically.

They also provide lots of very boring, bland, and needful incident management training to local and regional organizations, so that we can all work together more efficiently in emergencies.

I have participated in real responses with FEMA, plenty of drill responses, and hundreds of hours of mind-numbing training with them. They serve a useful purpose, but they aren't a magic bullet for disasters.

Williamsmith

9-12-17, 6:01pm

Plus FEMA does not replace your house. You might get emergency aid but it is your responsibility to have the right insurance. I think the average assistance to people who lost everything has been under $10,000. There are very strict limits how much help you can get.

Neither FEMA nor the insurance company representative have found their way to my son's house yet. USAA car insurance did show up in a jiffy and cut him a check for the two destroyed cars. The inventory in Houston is shaky and sparse. They ended up with a Hyundai Accent and a Chevy Equinox with 75,000 miles on it and a timing tick that hopefully doesn't get any worse.

The house is stripped to the six foot mark, has been sprayed with anti bacteria and mold killer and is drying out very slowly. The kitchen is bare from the top cabinets down, the bathroom is gutted, the bedroom the same, the garage the same, the living and dining room ditto. It's all going to be replaced as the money is available...that on top of the mortgage and taxes just like you were living there. Ain't life grand.

Not crossing fingers waiting for Uncle Sam to help. Don't think it is going to happen. Ain't life grand?

https://youtu.be/t7LvVzxYr1U

flowerseverywhere

9-12-17, 8:34pm

Neither FEMA nor the insurance company representative have found their way to my son's house yet. USAA car insurance did show up in a jiffy and cut him a check for the two destroyed cars. The inventory in Houston is shaky and sparse. They ended up with a Hyundai Accent and a Chevy Equinox with 75,000 miles on it and a timing tick that hopefully doesn't get any worse.

The house is stripped to the six foot mark, has been sprayed with anti bacteria and mold killer and is drying out very slowly. The kitchen is bare from the top cabinets down, the bathroom is gutted, the bedroom the same, the garage the same, the living and dining room ditto. It's all going to be replaced as the money is available...that on top of the mortgage and taxes just like you were living there. Ain't life grand.

Not crossing fingers waiting for Uncle Sam to help. Don't think it is going to happen. Ain't life grand?

https://youtu.be/t7LvVzxYr1U

you know, I think reading your post reminds me of why I think Trump won. I have seen a general attitude that people who work very hard and try to do everything by the book end up feeling abandoned when it is their time to need help. We all hear of so many people on food stamps for instance, or people who are not here legally enrolling their kids in school, and even getting benefits for them. I imagine it breaks your heart to see someone work so hard and be basically ignored by the powers that control the purse strings. Promises to drain the swamp and get rid of non documented people make a lot of sense to some people. Watching people become eligible for expanded Medicare while you watch your own premiums skyrocket while you dutifully pay taxes is another example of the frustration people feel.

I know now many people are going to be disappointed in the bottom line and how much these repairs are going to cost, if you can even get the supplies without someone jacking the price up. Every time I see strong winds lashing the outer banks or he shorelines I wonder why people are given permits to build there. And why are people who refuse to obey mandatory evacuation orders not required to reimburse for their rescue. In Key west they even sent city busses around to pick people up and drive them to safety. And gave out numbers to call if you could not do that well ahead of the storm. Now a huge amount of money is going towards getting supplies and help in. Doesn't make sense when there are limited dollars in the pot to go around.
Somewhere along the line those who issue building permits, or are in charge of zoning need to take a step back and figure out how to avoid these gigantic catastrophes. Certainly building below or at sea level is not the best idea or close to a shifting seashore. And with this new catastrophe everyone's premiums will probably go up and some won't be able to get insurance at any price.

For those that move to find employment what exactly are you supposed to do?

Williamsmith

9-12-17, 8:56pm

dmc

9-12-17, 9:30pm

Just got a text from son. The home owners insurance company that the bank assigned when the mortgage went through six weeks ago.....finally sent out a representative. I don't know if he was an actual employee or an independent contractor hired by the company but after a quick look see, he said, "Yeah, we won't be able to help you out much. Good luck."

i would think that the bank would be involved to make sure the insurance took care of things. They have a vested interest in the property. It sounds like they had flood damage, did they not have flood insurance?

dmc

9-12-17, 9:39pm

I've been asked to fly supplies to some areas in need. This is being organized by people just wanting to help. Private pilots flew supplies into Texas without the help of government or the Red Cross. They were able to mobilize quicker, and with no red tape. They are working on supply routes and staging.

Just people helping people.

hopefully we can start on Friday or Saturday, I am planning on returning on Thursday, unless Trump is at my home airport.

dmc

9-12-17, 9:42pm

Just in case anyone wants to help.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/operationairdrop

flowerseverywhere

9-12-17, 10:17pm

Williamsmith

9-12-17, 10:39pm

i would think that the bank would be involved to make sure the insurance took care of things. They have a vested interest in the property. It sounds like they had flood damage, did they not have flood insurance?

No flood insurance. Never had any flood in history at this location. 50 inches of rain is a once in five centuries event. It's hard for me to tell him this but I said there will be few challenges he and his wife will face the rest of their lives that will surpass this one...all they got to do is work together as a team. They had plans on hosting the entire family for Christmas.....that will still happen even if we have to sleep on the floor. He worked for a contractor , so he has the skills and he is very strong willed. From what I have read, the housing market hasn't missed a beat. They are building new homes like mad.

Tammy

9-12-17, 11:35pm

Once in 500 years might become once in 10 years if climate change is true as predicted.

Williamsmith

9-13-17, 8:02am

Once in 500 years might become once in 10 years if climate change is true as predicted.

This is of course an idea that humanity has not come to terms with. But the average person by virtue of his or her perspective in place and education or lack thereof make it impossible to discern the "truth" about this without it becoming a political headache. What science do you believe and what politician or radio personality speaks the truth? The solutions so far require changes to national destinies. And governments are poised to use it to force adgendas on the general population.

But all that aside, how does a father convince a son just starting out that he has made a mistake in location. An unspeakable tragedy like this makes it impossible to apply tough love. He gets my support and that includes making up shortfalls of cash when they arise. This makes it easier for him to rationalize remaining because he has a good job with plans for advancement in the future as does his wife. She has a sister living there also who was not flooded out. The rest of the nation is lagging behind Texas economic growth. Kids are flocking there. For once, I see it as a national problem more than personal one. The northeast can't compete and is losing its tax base and future.

dmc

9-13-17, 9:08am

Sorry to hear he didn't have flood insurance. And it is tough to leave a good job unless you have something else to go to. My first job out of college was in Wyoming, and I don't think anyone would live there in the winter by choice.

Maybe after he gets back on his feet he can look into purchasing some flood insurance just in case. The premium shouldn't be to high if he isn't in a flood plain and there have been no past claims on his house.

If he can do most of the work himself hopefully he will have more sweat than equity in the repairs. I'll bet things will look much better next year.

Im not leaving SW Florida, and I can live pretty much anywhere. But there will be some changes to the house, but nothing big.

gimmethesimplelife

9-13-17, 9:53am

About geographic locations and thinking them through for potential natural disasters - this is not of the same level of drama, granted - but when I was in Nogales, Mexico this July (the time around my thread about being concerned of crossing the border under Trump) it had just dropped over two inches of rain on the Mexican side due to a monsoon storm. I had heard for years that Nogales, Mexico had a bad flooding problem every Summer but had never seen it up close and personal until now. Apparently this area that I like so much on the border - 4,000 ft in altitude and technically semi-arid steppe and not desert with all four seasons and what most of you would consider a "normal"growing season due to temps way below 32F for several months every year in the mornings ......has a flooding problem, though it's not so bad on the US side. They also have intense and heavy rain from the monsoon every year, on the order of a two inch storm, at least once if not twice a summer. Some years much more like a few years back when Nogales got 8" of rain from hurricane remnants and Phoenix didn't get so much as a drop.

My point here is that even in Arizona - a place most would consider not vulnerable to natural disasters (other than forest fires), such still needs to be factored in to location decisions. Rob

ToomuchStuff

9-13-17, 10:10am

I am surprised gimme is not pushing for universal income for those affected or other public funding.