Don’t compensate Louisiana homes that lacked flood insurance

While I can sympathize with the folks impacted by the Louisiana floods, I was horrified to learn that more than 90 percent had no flood insurance and that FEMA was sending hundreds of inspectors to the affected areas.

What is the purpose of these inspectors? Are we going to give compensation to those people?

When I retired in Manatee County 23 years ago, I researched and found that although my home was outside of the FEMA flood zone, there had been a hurricane in 1921 that had created a storm surge of 18 feet that would have put the bottom floor of my present home three feet under water!

I have paid for federal flood insurance for those years and have felt confident that I would receive compensation for any losses I would incur. Now I find that everyone will receive the same consideration. Is the federal program just another form of taxation?

The same might be said of the Affordable Care Act wherein working-class people are required to pay punitive premiums and co-pays while the non-working “poor folks” receive medical attention for free. Another form of taxation!

In my youth we learned to despise Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s fight against various “isms”; however, with socialism overtaking everything today maybe we could use some of the old “tail gunners” invective.

This story was originally published August 28, 2016 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Don’t compensate Louisiana homes that lacked flood insurance."