Last year about this time, we discussed the effects of flooding in the Midwest, and how the Federales running the program seemed not to notice that they were paying out dollars that might be needed down the (waterlogged) road.
But that was then, and this is now:
"Margaret Wert bought her Wayne, New Jersey house in 1999, relying on assurances from her realtor that any occasional flooding would only amount to an inch or two of water. A week after closing, Hurricane Floyd put four feet of water in her basement.
Earlier this year, Wert, 45, got flooded again and received a payout of $5,000 on her government flood insurance, which costs her $1,200 a year. It wasn't enough to cover her bills, but it helped with the new stove, refrigerator and boiler.
But all of Margaret Wert's new appliances and much of her house are now ruined, after Hurricane Irene flooded broad swathes of New Jersey. This time, though, she has a message for the government insurance program."
Granted, Wayne isn't exactly beachfront property, but it's also not hundreds of miles inland. My initial take was that Ms Wert is in pretty much the same class as our erstwhile Midwestern rancher.
And to some extent, that holds; but there's actually a deeper, darker, more important lesson here, which my friend Brian D pointed out to me:
"In the United States ... insuring homeowners against flood damage is the sole province of the federal government."
Now you'll notice the ellipses, and what I redacted is important, but not yet crucial: we'll come back to it. The point here is that flood insurance is administered - and funded - by the government. It is, as Brian pointed out to me, a Single Payer System. In fact, it is a Single Payer System which some folks are required to buy.
Starting to sound familiar?
It is a mandatory, Single Payer System administered and funded by the federal government, and which is "a disaster itself, hanging on by a series of hard-fought annual extensions and the subject of a stalled reform bill in Congress."
Hmmmm.
Keep in mind, Irene came ashore as a much weaker storm than anticipated, and although the flooding and resulting damage has been extensive, it's no Katrina.
But what about the next one?
And the one after that?
Remember those ellipses?
Here's the complete quote:
"In the United States, uniquely in the developed world, insuring homeowners against flood damage is the sole province of the federal government." [emphasis added]
So unlike all those other countries that have (but are moving away from) single payer health insurance, we have a single payer flood insurance program. And how's that working out?
"In New Jersey alone, Governor Chris Christie has estimated losses could be in the tens of billions of dollars. The state has nearly $52 billion in flood insurance in force from the NFIP."
Gulp.
Or, as former FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh points out, "[i]t spends most of its time in the red. That's because it's another government program (where) the premiums that are charged are way under market value, in my opinion."
So we have a Federally administered and funded, mandatory, single payer insurance scheme that consistently loses money, and leaves claimants less than whole.
Remind me again, please: your money or your health?
But that was then, and this is now:
"Margaret Wert bought her Wayne, New Jersey house in 1999, relying on assurances from her realtor that any occasional flooding would only amount to an inch or two of water. A week after closing, Hurricane Floyd put four feet of water in her basement.
Earlier this year, Wert, 45, got flooded again and received a payout of $5,000 on her government flood insurance, which costs her $1,200 a year. It wasn't enough to cover her bills, but it helped with the new stove, refrigerator and boiler.
But all of Margaret Wert's new appliances and much of her house are now ruined, after Hurricane Irene flooded broad swathes of New Jersey. This time, though, she has a message for the government insurance program."
Granted, Wayne isn't exactly beachfront property, but it's also not hundreds of miles inland. My initial take was that Ms Wert is in pretty much the same class as our erstwhile Midwestern rancher.
And to some extent, that holds; but there's actually a deeper, darker, more important lesson here, which my friend Brian D pointed out to me:
"In the United States ... insuring homeowners against flood damage is the sole province of the federal government."
Now you'll notice the ellipses, and what I redacted is important, but not yet crucial: we'll come back to it. The point here is that flood insurance is administered - and funded - by the government. It is, as Brian pointed out to me, a Single Payer System. In fact, it is a Single Payer System which some folks are required to buy.
Starting to sound familiar?
It is a mandatory, Single Payer System administered and funded by the federal government, and which is "a disaster itself, hanging on by a series of hard-fought annual extensions and the subject of a stalled reform bill in Congress."
Hmmmm.
Keep in mind, Irene came ashore as a much weaker storm than anticipated, and although the flooding and resulting damage has been extensive, it's no Katrina.
But what about the next one?
And the one after that?
Remember those ellipses?
Here's the complete quote:
"In the United States, uniquely in the developed world, insuring homeowners against flood damage is the sole province of the federal government." [emphasis added]
So unlike all those other countries that have (but are moving away from) single payer health insurance, we have a single payer flood insurance program. And how's that working out?
"In New Jersey alone, Governor Chris Christie has estimated losses could be in the tens of billions of dollars. The state has nearly $52 billion in flood insurance in force from the NFIP."
Gulp.
Or, as former FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh points out, "[i]t spends most of its time in the red. That's because it's another government program (where) the premiums that are charged are way under market value, in my opinion."
So we have a Federally administered and funded, mandatory, single payer insurance scheme that consistently loses money, and leaves claimants less than whole.
Remind me again, please: your money or your health?
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