Agent_Dung_Bomb wrote:
CaptainSpaulding71 wrote:
Agent_Dung_Bomb wrote:
Lowing, you seem to have missed a few major points here.
1. This is FEMA, not welfare.
2. The head of FEMA was appointed by Bush.
3. This all began under a Republican controlled government.
4. There were also many businesses that filed fraudulent claims, trying to score some of that taxpayer cash.
Kind of convenient that you forgot to mention these points before laying your typical tirade about liberals being the root of all our problems.
FEMA was at fault for sure (slow to respond)
but mayor Ray 'chocolate' Naggin and that pathetic Governor screwed the pooch way worse. How many school busses were sitting in their yards that could have been used to get people out of the city? Naggin did not mobilize them. I'd argue that the Democrat controlled infrastructure at the local level should have done way way more since they were on the ground and essentially first responders in this. Instead, the governor was cowering under a desk. did she mobilize the national guard to ensure an orderly evacuation?
don't put this all on the republicans, please.
Don't side step the argument. I totally agree that NO's government didn't do what they could have, but that isn't what Lowing was ranting about. He's ranting about the money being paid to these people. Also, even if NO's government had done more to evacuate people, that still wouldn't change the fact that they were displaced and this money would still be spent.
not side stepping the argument. when i read your response it sounded to me like 'blame bush'. i agree with you that money should be spent on displaced people but the way it was handled was pathetic. instead of blank check, they should have issued something akin to food stamps that can be used for food, diapers, hotel rooms, etc. instead, they had $2000 credit card without any oversight. i'm not sure whether this was a republican or democrat gaff.
we can also take a step back and look at why socially these people acted the way they did. that's actually a more interesting thread. why do people who are given hand outs all their lives behave in such a way that they cannot take care of themselves? is it lack of opportunity? i am unsure of this since there are many stories of poor inner city youth growing up and starting businesses, running companies, becoming successful as PART of society. Actually i would argue that those who are not integrating into society are the problem. I would argue that they themselves are the ones keeping them 'down' and holding them back. The social leaders (Jesse 'rainbow' Jackson and Al Sharpton) make money off of these people's suffering and are basically saying it's ok to do nothing - you are owed this because of 400 years of slavery. This kind of talk is counter productive because it just divides the nation. at the core, people want to have families and succeed. However, the 'guilt' mentality that Sharpton/Jackson and many progressives from the 60s are pushing is really just holding them back from these aspirations. i don't see that as a solution. Rather, i would like to see more job training, less hand-outs but more hand-ups (work for the $$$ even if it is public works), fixing the breakdown of the nuclear family, work with civic leaders to get progress instead of division going, etc.