19 May 2011 Build me a new home, the old one just washed away

            Up and down the Mississippi, thousands of homes are inundated.  Most of them are built in flood plains or in flood-prone areas.  While this year’s floods are extreme in scope and volume of floodwaters, they are not unique.  I’ve seen similar flooding in my lifetime on the Mississippi, the Ohio, & the Missouri.   

            When the floods recede, and the land is dry enough to support trucks, there will be a steady stream of construction.  The poor people who live in the flood plains because they are poor will start over with next to nothing.  They have no insurance and no hope of affording anything better in the U.S. of 2011.   These are truck farmers, warehouse workers, cooks, nurse’s aides,  janitors, and other invisible cogs in a work force that is being paid far too little to keep up with rising costs of living. 

            While I wish we could move them all to decent housing unlikely to flood, we can’t.  They will continue to live on the edge of disaster, watching to see which major river will threaten them next time. 

            While the poor and once-middle-class try to start over, the wealthy will submit bills for insured properties to federally funded insurance carriers.   Luxury homes, built in locations to afford the best views, and occupied only part –time during the year, will be rebuilt again and again.  I can accept rebuilding one vacation home at taxpayers’ expense.    I find it unacceptable to keep rebuilding for the wealthy when they knowingly build in a location that promises some form of natural disaster will destroy any new construction almost upon schedule. 

            You can be certain that the provision to cover repeated repairs or reconstruction was inserted into federal law by a Republican.  They do take care to reward their financial backers with such services.  Doubtless, there were Democrats who voted for the gift; they’re not immune to taking advantage of their exalted status.  But mostly the proponents and beneficiaries aren’t worried about sandbagging their homes with views.  They just walk away, knowing someone else will try to save their property and that it will be rebuilt with little cost to them. 

            These are the people who claim to be paying too much in taxes.