Cavuto Guest: Government Should Not Be Paying For Katrina

[Annie]

I guess I agree with this, though I don't see how any private charity could have gotten up front the way FEMA was able to:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167790,00.html

Transcript: Should Taxpayer Dollars Rebuild New Orleans?
Tuesday, August 30, 2005

This is a partial transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," August 30, 2005, that was edited for clarity.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Forget insurance. My next guest says not one taxpayer dollar should go toward rebuilding the city of New Orleans (search).

Joining us now is Jack Chambless. He is the economics professor of Valencia Community College in Orlando.

Professor, why do you say that?

JACK CHAMBLESS, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR, VALENCIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Well, if we look at Article One, Section Eight of the United States Constitution (search) — and I encourage all Americans to look at that before we start opening up our tax coffers to pay for all of this — we have every obligation to provide for New Orleans in terms of charity, private charity from one person to the other.

But the founding fathers never intended, Article One, section Eight of the Constitution, never intended to provide one dollar of taxpayer dollars to pay for any disaster or anything that we might call charity. What we now have is the law of unintended consequences taking place, where FEMA (search) has come into New Orleans, a place where, ecologically, it makes no sense to have levees keeping the Mississippi River (search) from flooding into New Orleans, like it naturally should.

Now with FEMA bailing out Louisiana, bailing out Florida and lowering the overall cost of living in these places, we have people with no incentive to leave. And the law of unintended consequences means that more people are dying with every one of these storms. They're becoming more and more expensive, more and more property loss, just because the federal government has violated the Constitution to provide for these funds.

CAVUTO: Yes, but, Professor, if you have your way, then, these areas will just be the domain of the well-to-do, right?

CHAMBLESS: No, no, not at all.

I mean, people of modest means lived in the Bayou, they lived along the coast of Florida long before the government got involved. But they assumed personal responsibility for their decisions. They paid for insurance. They paid the market premium for insurance.

CAVUTO: Yes, but those insurance companies, Jack, have left. They're not insuring these people anymore, right?

CHAMBLESS: Some of them have left. I'm a resident of Florida. We still have insurance in the state of Florida. It's become more expensive.

CAVUTO: No, wait. To be clear, I know your state well, and there are some areas where that is simply not offered.

CHAMBLESS: Right. But that's part of the cost.

You shouldn't have to compel the insurance companies or force them. They are a private for-profit business. If they believe the risks are too high and the probability of incurring losses are too great, nobody should force them to underwrite policies there. But, if we look at what the insurance companies are also doing, in a way, they're able to free ride off of the taxpayers, because they're not responsible for flood insurance.

CAVUTO: Well, it's a good point.

But let me ask you, though. I mean, if you had things your way, if and when we have future disasters, including in your home state of Florida, where this frequently happens the government will assume no responsibility. No one will assume any responsibility. Insurance companies, the way they are now, are not assuming responsibility, for the most part. So, you're gouged, right?

CHAMBLESS: No, not at all.

Last year, Americans gave $240 billion to charity, which is far more than the economies of many Western European countries. Between charity and between people making rational decisions about where they would like to live and buying insurance if they can afford it, you will still have people living in these areas.

CAVUTO: OK. Jack Chambless, thank you. It's an argument we don't hear often espoused.

CHAMBLESS: Thank you.

 

[bush lover]

If the U.S. has the money to rebuild Bagdad, then we have the money to rebuild New Orleans. Deficits are irrelevant, Cheney once said. Plug the levees and dikes, fix them right, pump the city out, get the sewage system, water and power working, wash down the streets and get the place back to normal. Spend whatever it takes to get New Orleans back in shape. We're doing it in Bagdad.

 

[Mr. P]

So, you want to gamble? Place yer bets and take yer chances.
Which is exactly what everyone living in NO has done and they lost the bet.

This disaster has been predicted for years. It's a no brainer,
if you live on the coast BELOW sea level it's just
a matter of WHEN not IF you'll be wiped out.

I for one don't want any of my tax money used to rebuild NO.
Humanitarian aid, okay...Other than that, forget it.

 

[dilloduck]

So, you want to gamble? Place yer bets and take yer chances.
Which is exactly what everyone living in NO has done and they lost the bet.

This disaster has been predicted for years. It's a no brainer,
if you live on the coast BELOW sea level it's just
a matter of WHEN not IF you'll be wiped out.

I for one don't want any of my tax money used to rebuild NO.
Humanitarian aid, okay...Other than that, forget it.

I agree--common sense would dictate simply abandoning the entire area and let Loiusianna build a new port city in an area that might be safe and sane. The old NO is dead and people have to face it---they can NEVER make it the same again. Grieve and move on! Private industry can start building and others will follow the jobs.

 

[insein]

While i agree with the general idea and usually i have a cold calculation about these things, this is America. We are a country of idea-makers and we don't quit. Someone can figure out a BETTER way to run those levies or find a whole new solution all together.

We can't just abandon an American city because its too hard to rebuild. This is people's homes and one of the key cities in the creation of this country. Stonewall Jackson and several thousand ragtag Americans defended her to the death against the British in the war of 1812. She was worth fighting for then and it is now.

We will figure out a way to rebuild it. People's whole livelihoods are gone right now. We cant just say to them "your city is gone forever." We must help them rebuild. I believe that federal funding should be used for disaster and rebuilding of AMERICAN properties ABOVE ALL ELSE. We waste all that money in Africa, we can damn sure rebuild New Orleans.

 

[dilloduck]

While i agree with the general idea and usually i have a cold calculation about these things, this is America. We are a country of idea-makers and we don't quit. Someone can figure out a BETTER way to run those levies or find a whole new solution all together.

We can't just abandon an American city because its too hard to rebuild. This is people's homes and one of the key cities in the creation of this country. Stonewall Jackson and several thousand ragtag Americans defended her to the death against the British in the war of 1812. She was worth fighting for then and it is now.

We will figure out a way to rebuild it. People's whole livelihoods are gone right now. We cant just say to them "your city is gone forever." We must help them rebuild. I believe that federal funding should be used for disaster and rebuilding of AMERICAN properties ABOVE ALL ELSE. We waste all that money in Africa, we can damn sure rebuild New Orleans.

Where do suggest the millions of gallons of polluted water be pumped?

 

[Democrat4Bush]

I have to agree with bush lover. If we can spend billions to rebuild a foriegn country, we can rebuild New Orleans.

So far the federal and state response to this disaster has been a complete embarassment.

I support President Bush 100%, but he's dropping the ball on this one. Big time.

 

[dilloduck]

I have to agree with bush lover. If we can spend billions to rebuild a foriegn country, we can rebuild New Orleans.

So far the federal and state response to this disaster has been a complete embarassment.

I support President Bush 100%, but he's dropping the ball on this one. Big time.

Hang on here---The President is NOT the one in charge of everything that happens in America--People have to get that through their heads. Exactly WHAT ball did he drop---I wanna here some specific accusations and some assessment of how the STATE government responded. I'm sick of this blanket Bush bashing for what is happening in NO.

 

[Democrat4Bush]

How can I explain it.

What he is doing behind the scenes is good, all the federal funding, the navy etc...

But Bush is coming off as detactched from the reality of the situtation.

For example:

On GMA he stated that "nobody ever dreamed the levee's would fail", yet for 2 days prior to the storm, that's all FOX, TWC, and CNN and everyone else talked about.

Just my personal observation

 

[GotZoom]

At the risk of sounding cold hearted, I'm not so sure I disagree 100% with this guy. I mentioned previously that I was in Florida when Hurricane Andrew hit. Complete devastation. But there certainly wasn't the B.S. that is going on now. There weren't armed gangs patrolling the street looting and raping. I didn't hear of anyone standing around screaming about wanting the government to take care of them. Everyone cleaned up the mess, rebuilt, left the area, etc..and moved on.

There were plenty of warnings for people to leave. There was a MANDATORY evacuation issued. Yet, people, for whatever reason, chose to ignore it.

You choose to live where you live. You choose to do what you do. If you make the right decision, more power to you. If you make the wrong on, you have to pay the price. Hopefully you live from it and do better next time.

Yes, the government could have done things to help before the Hurricane. I read something where they needed money to upgrade the levee structure but couldn't get enough money while there was money granted for a bridge in Alaska that went to an uninhabited island and something about studying dust in Arkansas.

I don't know if the lobbyists didn't do a good enough job, or it was payback for some under the table crap (that we all know goes on).

I hope NO gets rebuilt. I hope they do some serious thinking and soul-searching on how they do it. And I think they should absorb a majority, if not all the cost of doing it.

 

[dilloduck]

How can I explain it.

What he is doing behind the scenes is good, all the federal funding, the navy etc...

But Bush is coming off as detactched from the reality of the situtation.

For example:

On GMA he stated that "nobody ever dreamed the levee's would fail", yet for 2 days prior to the storm, that's all FOX, TWC, and CNN and everyone else talked about.

Just my personal observation

They all also reported the day after it hit that the levees had held and NO had dodged a bullet.

 

[Mr. P]

....
We can't just abandon an American city because its too hard to rebuild.
...

It's not a matter of it being "hard" it's a matter of it being dumb and a waste of money.
This will happen again, someday. Why waste the money?

We must help them rebuild.

Why? What obligation do we, the Nation, have to rebuild a city in FLOOD ZONE?
Do you think that's a wise use of our tax dollars? I don't, it's insane..

 

[insein]

It's not a matter of it being "hard" it's a matter of it being dumb and a waste of money.
This will happen again, someday. Why waste the money?

Why? What obligation do we, the Nation, have to rebuild a city in FLOOD ZONE?
Do you think that's a wise use of our tax dollars? I don't, it's insane..

I cant believe what im hearing? We spend trillions to help poor assholes around the fucking world and people don't want to spend the money it would take to rebuild an AMERICAN city? This city has held for 300 years. Its under some water. Pump the water out to wherever. Fuck the environmentalists. Send the water to wherever you can to get rid of it. We have the technology to rebuild a better levee system. We don't just abandon things because they are too tough. This is a major US port city and its vital to our oil production capabilities. In other words, its worth the dough to rebuild.