Efforts to Change Flood Insurance Stall

[uscitizen]

Efforts to Change Flood Insurance Stall


Aug 26, 1:04 PM (ET)

By BEN EVANS


WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite promising changes, Congress has shown little enthusiasm for taking the unpopular steps that experts say are necessary to fix the nation's main flood insurance program.

Recent flooding in the Midwest has brought the issue back to the forefront. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, back-to-back storms in 2005, dispelled any notion that the insurance program was self-sustaining. They threw it roughly $20 billion into debt and called attention to major structural flaws.

Nearly everyone acknowledges it cannot pay off the debt, much less pay for losses in future storms. But so far, Congress has done little more than raise the program's borrowing limit, essentially handing taxpayers a series of shaky IOUs.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070826/D8R8R67G0.html

 

[Don Quixote]

national disasters

Efforts to Change Flood Insurance Stall


Aug 26, 1:04 PM (ET)

By BEN EVANS


WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite promising changes, Congress has shown little enthusiasm for taking the unpopular steps that experts say are necessary to fix the nation's main flood insurance program.

Recent flooding in the Midwest has brought the issue back to the forefront. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, back-to-back storms in 2005, dispelled any notion that the insurance program was self-sustaining. They threw it roughly $20 billion into debt and called attention to major structural flaws.

Nearly everyone acknowledges it cannot pay off the debt, much less pay for losses in future storms. But so far, Congress has done little more than raise the program's borrowing limit, essentially handing taxpayers a series of shaky IOUs.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070826/D8R8R67G0.html

usc

speaking of national disasters, there is always the federal government...

perhaps what we really need is general disaster insurance

a) earthquake

b) fire

c) flood

d) wind

a person could purchase any of the above depending on what sort of natural disaster is likely to hit them

the true fly in the ointment would be how to assess how much to charge for premiums and how much liquidity to keep and how to keep the fed's hands off of it for non-emergencies - like a trust fund but not part of the budget

also, a provision to move people out of disaster prone areas

aah, never happen

 

[doniston]

Efforts to Change Flood Insurance Stall


Aug 26, 1:04 PM (ET)

By BEN EVANS


WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite promising changes, Congress has shown little enthusiasm for taking the unpopular steps that experts say are necessary to fix the nation's main flood insurance program.

Recent flooding in the Midwest has brought the issue back to the forefront. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, back-to-back storms in 2005, dispelled any notion that the insurance program was self-sustaining. They threw it roughly $20 billion into debt and called attention to major structural flaws.

Nearly everyone acknowledges it cannot pay off the debt, much less pay for losses in future storms. But so far, Congress has done little more than raise the program's borrowing limit, essentially handing taxpayers a series of shaky IOUs.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070826/D8R8R67G0.html

and so there is nothing new.

 

[uscitizen]

How about insurance against a corrupt government ?

 

[Don Quixote]

How about insurance against a corrupt government ?

usc

any government program will become corrupt within 4 years, if not sooner, and therefore should be deleted after 4 years and another program started in its place with new faces

this will not stop corruption but it might slow it down a bit

ps thinking too much rots the brain - just do as i say (not as i do) and all will be well...

 

[uscitizen]

Banning political parties might be a start.
Everyone could have free speech just not organized programmed speech.

 

[Damocles]

Banning political parties might be a start.
Everyone could have free speech just not organized programmed speech.

This would be against your right to Assemble. Same Amendment.

 

[uscitizen]

Assemble if you want. Just no official political parties. Political parties go far beyond assembly. Seems like the Libertarians should support this.
Are the poilitcal parties in the constitutiion ?

 

[Damocles]

Assemble if you want. Just no official political parties. Political parties go far beyond assembly. Seems like the Libertarians should support this.
Are the poilitcal parties in the constitutiion ?

You wouldn't be able to outlaw political parties because of the right to assembly. "It seems like libertarians..." is something we hear often on this site, but it is very often simply misguided.

First libertarians are not a group mind, secondly what libertarians have to think on it has nothing to do with what the constitution says.

Your idea is like 'outlawing official religions' wouldn't be against that same amendment. Of course it would. People have the right to assemble with people for any reason, including for political parties.

 

[uscitizen]

You wouldn't be able to outlaw political parties because of the right to assembly. "It seems like libertarians..." is something we hear often on this site, but it is very often simply misguided.

First libertarians are not a group mind, secondly what libertarians have to think on it has nothing to do with what the constitution says.

Your idea is like 'outlawing official religions' wouldn't be against that same amendment. Of course it would. People have the right to assemble with people for any reason, including for political parties.

Just tax the heck out of political parties then