Let me clarify briefly. I simply stated that the images and responses following Katrina have revealed large-scale inequality along racial lines, which was otherwise hidden from the outside world, even from visitors to the French Quarter. In regards to flood insurance, I must admit not knowing what the premiums are, but what’s your best explanation for so many NOLA homeowners without such insurance? Besides all this, I still don’t understand how the NOLA region, with oil wells, refineries, agriculture, aquaculture and one of the world’s largest ports, hasn’t been better protected over the years.
Anthony, you sound like a genuinely nice guy, but the City of New Orleans has been run by “minorities” since 1978. The problems created in the city were caused by giving people things. I just received this story in my e-mail, which describes exactly what happened in New Orleans.
There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange
students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab, the Prof
noticed one young man, an exchange student, who kept rubbing his back and
stretching as if his back hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him
he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country’s government and install a new communist regime.
In the midst of his story, he looked at the professor and asked a strange
question. He asked:
“Do you know how to catch wild pigs?”
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young
man said that it was no joke.
“You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting
corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the
free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one
side of the place where they are used to coming.
When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you
put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.
The pigs, which are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate
to eat that free corn again.
You then slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild
pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence,
but they are caught.
Soon they go back to eating the free corn . They are so used to it that
they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they
accept their captivity.”
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening in America . The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of
programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tax
cuts, tax exemptions, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to
plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose
our freedoms, just a little at a time.
One should always remember two truths:
1) There is no such thing as a free lunch
2) and you can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than
you can do it yourself.
If you see that all of this wonderful government ‘help’ is a problem
confronting the future of democracy in America , you might want to send
this on to your friends.
If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life, then you will
probably delete this email.
Why? Probably the same reason people merely maintain the state liability limits and don’t purchase an umbrella. It is not a priority and most times not required. The only time it becomes a priority is after the loss and they realize their mistake. People would rather spend money on things rather than insurance. Funny thing is, insurance can help you keep those “things” after a loss.
I believe I read a similar analogy and I’m happy that you brought this up. What this story reveals is government policies which systemically give disincentives towards individuals’ health and prosperity, which are the bases of true freedom. I still wonder how prevalent is the collective memories of the “minorities”, of the “Jim Crow” era and if today’s social benefits are accepted as adequate compensation and a definite improvement, compared with that era.
Yes, I agree that it’s universal human behavior to accept such risks. It leaves me with one more question: How strict are the building construction codes and are there any double-standards, especially in less affluent neighborhoods?
I would imagine they are the same by county as I believe that is how it is done here. What do you mean double standards? Either way, double standards or not, white and black lost their houses in Katrina, and in most cases neither had flood.
Dustin, I’ve got to agree with what you’ve said. It hit everyone. Katrina did not discriminate. I wonder if we can find the statistics on how many people that flooded, carried flood insurance.
Unfortunately, people are swayed by the media that were hell-bent on casting President Bush as the bad guy, instead of giving the news. Add Spite Lee’s film, which I understand is full of lies. I refuse to watch it because I will in no way support a film filled with racist and hateful lies.
Dustin you are wrong. Most people did have flood insurance. The suits are from those that did not or did not have sufficient coverage and want the government to pay for their stupidity.
Louisiana post Katrina enacted very strict building standards similar to Dade County, Florida which are probably the most stringent in the country. But with Katrina the problem was not wind….it was flood. Without the flood Katrina is a relatively light storm for New Orleans. It was not light (wind) for southern Louisiana (Lower Plaquemenes, St. Bernard, and Jefferson and the Misisisippi Gulf Coast). Houses are not built to sit soaking in water for weeks so no building code can stand up to that peril. That is why one needs flood.
Some people chose knowingly not to carry flood. Others stopped flood once their mortgage was paid off and “it was not required”. Still others were misled in some way to believe they did not need it. I go back to my original premise; are you not going to protect the most valuable possession you will own in your lifetime? And particularly from the most destructive peril flood?
The Federally funded Road Home Program is giving these people billions as a result of their insurance inadequacies. So the HO insurance companies should also pay…I don’t think so.
In accord with Mr. Glen, NOLA did have one of the highest rates of insureds in the country. Also with some of my relatives, they were told that their homes were too old to insure. It’s really a mixture of ignorance, apathy that caused this whole debacle. Also I’d like to see more agents called on the carpet (E & O, anyone?) for their erroneous advice which I have seen and heard first hand. Also with the rate of unemployment BEFORE Katrina which was more viable – food or insurance? Paying said mortgage and insurance on top of that? Now that’s a clincher. Yes, there was a higher ratio of affluent whites that had better terms but Katrina DID equalize things. There was the recent article of the doctor in Metairie that felt half a million was not enough to rebuild – go figure! From an insurance standpoint NO ONE can plead ignorance from now on. From a racial standpoint and social issue, that will have us here all day and then some. As far as I am concerned it is all wearying and some people need to go somewhere else and start over and take the insurance part as a lesson learned and do better.
To Ad,
How was Spike Lee’s movie full of lies when there so many with eyewitness accounts? So much footage? Are you afraid to blame Bush. I blame alot of people across political and racial lines. A lot of people sat on their a@&@!* with Katrina. If it was racist do you have guilt? How would you really know what to feel when you haven’t seen it? It’s a multicultural take on what happened and I have to say the Whites were more vocal than the Blacks. You just have an issue that a Black man produced it and you equate Spike Lee with incendiary movie making. There are whites that have made thought provoking movies too so who cares who did it just as long as the story is told.
Saints Fan, You don’t like my take on it. Too Bad!!! You’re just going to have to get over it. Put your hand out and get more freebies.
I saw enough of Spite Lee’s garbage when I would pass trough the channels through HBO. It was slanted from what I saw and from what I was told. I am a New Orleanian, so you cannot fool me. Furthermore, it was NOT George Bush’s fault. If you don’t have insurance, it’s your fault.
Where in Heaven’s name did you get the fact that you could not carry flood insurance because it was too old? Utter nonsense. Are you REALLY in the insurance industry? In what capacity? If you’re an agent, please surrender your license.
God deals out tough times. You need to get up off your laurels and move on. You and the Greater New Orleans area aren’t the only ones to fall on hard times, so please allow me to put my violin away for you.
Back to work. I will not wait for someone to take care of me.
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TO GLENN AND DUSTIN:
Let me clarify briefly. I simply stated that the images and responses following Katrina have revealed large-scale inequality along racial lines, which was otherwise hidden from the outside world, even from visitors to the French Quarter. In regards to flood insurance, I must admit not knowing what the premiums are, but what’s your best explanation for so many NOLA homeowners without such insurance? Besides all this, I still don’t understand how the NOLA region, with oil wells, refineries, agriculture, aquaculture and one of the world’s largest ports, hasn’t been better protected over the years.
Anthony, you sound like a genuinely nice guy, but the City of New Orleans has been run by “minorities” since 1978. The problems created in the city were caused by giving people things. I just received this story in my e-mail, which describes exactly what happened in New Orleans.
There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange
students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab, the Prof
noticed one young man, an exchange student, who kept rubbing his back and
stretching as if his back hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him
he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country’s government and install a new communist regime.
In the midst of his story, he looked at the professor and asked a strange
question. He asked:
“Do you know how to catch wild pigs?”
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young
man said that it was no joke.
“You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting
corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the
free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one
side of the place where they are used to coming.
When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you
put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.
The pigs, which are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate
to eat that free corn again.
You then slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild
pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence,
but they are caught.
Soon they go back to eating the free corn . They are so used to it that
they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they
accept their captivity.”
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening in America . The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of
programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tax
cuts, tax exemptions, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to
plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose
our freedoms, just a little at a time.
One should always remember two truths:
1) There is no such thing as a free lunch
2) and you can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than
you can do it yourself.
If you see that all of this wonderful government ‘help’ is a problem
confronting the future of democracy in America , you might want to send
this on to your friends.
If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life, then you will
probably delete this email.
But God help you when the gate slams shut!
Why? Probably the same reason people merely maintain the state liability limits and don’t purchase an umbrella. It is not a priority and most times not required. The only time it becomes a priority is after the loss and they realize their mistake. People would rather spend money on things rather than insurance. Funny thing is, insurance can help you keep those “things” after a loss.
TO AD:
I believe I read a similar analogy and I’m happy that you brought this up. What this story reveals is government policies which systemically give disincentives towards individuals’ health and prosperity, which are the bases of true freedom. I still wonder how prevalent is the collective memories of the “minorities”, of the “Jim Crow” era and if today’s social benefits are accepted as adequate compensation and a definite improvement, compared with that era.
Yes, I agree that it’s universal human behavior to accept such risks. It leaves me with one more question: How strict are the building construction codes and are there any double-standards, especially in less affluent neighborhoods?
I would imagine they are the same by county as I believe that is how it is done here. What do you mean double standards? Either way, double standards or not, white and black lost their houses in Katrina, and in most cases neither had flood.
Dustin, I’ve got to agree with what you’ve said. It hit everyone. Katrina did not discriminate. I wonder if we can find the statistics on how many people that flooded, carried flood insurance.
Unfortunately, people are swayed by the media that were hell-bent on casting President Bush as the bad guy, instead of giving the news. Add Spite Lee’s film, which I understand is full of lies. I refuse to watch it because I will in no way support a film filled with racist and hateful lies.
Back to work. Will catch up later.
Dustin you are wrong. Most people did have flood insurance. The suits are from those that did not or did not have sufficient coverage and want the government to pay for their stupidity.
Louisiana post Katrina enacted very strict building standards similar to Dade County, Florida which are probably the most stringent in the country. But with Katrina the problem was not wind….it was flood. Without the flood Katrina is a relatively light storm for New Orleans. It was not light (wind) for southern Louisiana (Lower Plaquemenes, St. Bernard, and Jefferson and the Misisisippi Gulf Coast). Houses are not built to sit soaking in water for weeks so no building code can stand up to that peril. That is why one needs flood.
Some people chose knowingly not to carry flood. Others stopped flood once their mortgage was paid off and “it was not required”. Still others were misled in some way to believe they did not need it. I go back to my original premise; are you not going to protect the most valuable possession you will own in your lifetime? And particularly from the most destructive peril flood?
The Federally funded Road Home Program is giving these people billions as a result of their insurance inadequacies. So the HO insurance companies should also pay…I don’t think so.
In accord with Mr. Glen, NOLA did have one of the highest rates of insureds in the country. Also with some of my relatives, they were told that their homes were too old to insure. It’s really a mixture of ignorance, apathy that caused this whole debacle. Also I’d like to see more agents called on the carpet (E & O, anyone?) for their erroneous advice which I have seen and heard first hand. Also with the rate of unemployment BEFORE Katrina which was more viable – food or insurance? Paying said mortgage and insurance on top of that? Now that’s a clincher. Yes, there was a higher ratio of affluent whites that had better terms but Katrina DID equalize things. There was the recent article of the doctor in Metairie that felt half a million was not enough to rebuild – go figure! From an insurance standpoint NO ONE can plead ignorance from now on. From a racial standpoint and social issue, that will have us here all day and then some. As far as I am concerned it is all wearying and some people need to go somewhere else and start over and take the insurance part as a lesson learned and do better.
To Ad,
How was Spike Lee’s movie full of lies when there so many with eyewitness accounts? So much footage? Are you afraid to blame Bush. I blame alot of people across political and racial lines. A lot of people sat on their a@&@!* with Katrina. If it was racist do you have guilt? How would you really know what to feel when you haven’t seen it? It’s a multicultural take on what happened and I have to say the Whites were more vocal than the Blacks. You just have an issue that a Black man produced it and you equate Spike Lee with incendiary movie making. There are whites that have made thought provoking movies too so who cares who did it just as long as the story is told.
Saints Fan, You don’t like my take on it. Too Bad!!! You’re just going to have to get over it. Put your hand out and get more freebies.
I saw enough of Spite Lee’s garbage when I would pass trough the channels through HBO. It was slanted from what I saw and from what I was told. I am a New Orleanian, so you cannot fool me. Furthermore, it was NOT George Bush’s fault. If you don’t have insurance, it’s your fault.
Where in Heaven’s name did you get the fact that you could not carry flood insurance because it was too old? Utter nonsense. Are you REALLY in the insurance industry? In what capacity? If you’re an agent, please surrender your license.
God deals out tough times. You need to get up off your laurels and move on. You and the Greater New Orleans area aren’t the only ones to fall on hard times, so please allow me to put my violin away for you.
Back to work. I will not wait for someone to take care of me.