9/11, the Tsunami, and now Katrina...

[tbrooks40]

I have been watching and listening closely to reports the last few days and have noticed that of all the diasters we've indured over the last few years Katrina seems to be the only one resulting in this new found need for prudence with diaster relief funds.

I surely agree that this kind of aid should be as transparent as possible but it just strikes me as odd that the same people who had a "by any means necessary" approach to 9/11 are now in a "let's not just throw money at the problem" mode?

Anyone else notice this? Any ideas why so many have such different tones to two equally horrific events?

 

[Sheepathon]

Blame Jesus.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Because the Republicans want to spend $200 billion, going mostly to friends of and contributors to GWB and Cheney.

Republicans now support pork spending ($741 million of waste to Alaska) instead of fiscal conservatism.

 

[tbrooks40]

Originally posted by: Sheepathon
Blame Jesus.

please explain?

 

[meltdown75]

wait until the acid cloud from outer space strikes!!

<insert evil laugh here>

 

[farmercal]

I don't recall any debit cards being handed out for any of the other tragedies.

 

[Yossarian]

Originally posted by: farmercal
I don't recall any debit cards being handed out for any of the other tragedies.

how about the millions that were given to 9/11 families? not debit cards but you get the idea.

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: Yossarian

Originally posted by: farmercal
I don't recall any debit cards being handed out for any of the other tragedies.

how about the millions that were given to 9/11 families? not debit cards but you get the idea.

Plus, these debit cards were being handed out to families who were near the poverty line to begin with, and this disaster puts them behind even more because the majority of the people in New Orleans have lost their jobs permanently. It's not like 9/11 where most of the companies with offices in the WTC just moved their surviving personnel to new offices in New York and the families of those who died had very lucrative life insurance policies to keep them going financially while they grieved for their loved ones. Many of the survivors of New Orleans have to start over again from nothing, so they need all the help they can get.

With 9/11, you lost some major buildings and a few thousand lives but the devestation was nowhere near as extensive as what was done by Katrina, which devestated thousands of square miles. The sheer area to be rebuilt is going to make the Katrina recovery incredibly expensive, and that's if Rita doesn't come though as a Cat 3 storm next week and do further damage. We are already deep in debt as a nation due to Bush's tax cuts and spending on the Iraq invasion, so the cost related to Katrina is a hard pill to swallow.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: tbrooks40

Originally posted by: Sheepathon
Blame Jesus.

please explain?

Why not? This clown did...

 

[Baked]

How much of the donated money do you think actually goes to the relief effort?

 

[funkymatt]

i'd say maximum 20% actually goes to the cause.

oh, and due to 9/11 we now have a whole department of "homeland security".... i think i'll just leave that as the joke as to not make this a P&N thread.

 

[tbrooks40]

ummm... i do recall these people losing everything they have! no home, no food, no water, no job, no clothes, no nothing! how can you even compare the two!

i'm not sure if i would have gone the debit card route if i were heading up the efforts down there, but it did serve to get something tangible to those going through an awful lot with a even tougher road to ahead in many respects.