[lbo-talk] Black Vote

[Oudeis]

Yoshie writes:
Compare Louisiana with Florida: "Possibly the most egregious of these
largely under-reported fiascos was the revelation that FEMA made 31
million dollars in questionable payments to residents of Florida's
Miami-Dade County for damage from Hurricane Frances in September
2004, even though the storm caused only minimal damage in that
area" (William Fisher, "Did FEMA Buy 'Votes' for Bush?" <http://
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=30234>, 12 Sep. 2005).

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I'm not sure what's being compared? I think that, to see how FEMA has
normally operated, it'd be important to look at the disbursement of
payment since H. Andrew 1992. Does FEMA normally operate as it did in
Florida? I don't know but it wasn't clear from the Miami Dade reporter
that what happened here was anything but a scam during an election
year in a state run by the prezdinet's brother, Jeb!

Consequently, they couldn't afford to do anything but be Johnny on the spot.

Everyone will recall my shock in the early days after Katrina struck.
I was so used to watch Jeb at the helm, accompanied by FEMA, assuring
everyone it's all be ok, and FEMA quickly bringing in supplies, the
infamous white camper trailers, and handing out checks for relocation,
to cover your house loss, etc. etc. I said, "Where's FEMA. Don't they
have a plan? This is what they do?!"

But, as the reporter who broke that story has said, they wanted to
pacify the voters and they'd do anything, inlcuding handing out money
to _anyone_ who filed a claim, without checking up on it, that they
were handing out cash to anyone without any evidence they had a
hurricane damaged home. When they caught up with people who'd filed
the wrongulf claims, they were finding people living in homes full of
brand new furniture, etc. etc. that they'd purchased with the FEMA
checks.

Of course they were going to give it to Miami Dade residents, no
questions! The migrant workers and poor black and white working class
in Punta Gorda? The ones who were demolished by Hurricane Charley,
which veered away from Tampa at the last minute? They got ignored.
Only the local news was reporting on their plight or the plight of the
migrant workers further inland, in C. Florida, the Bible Belt near
Bartow and Lakeland, where the migrant farm worker population also got
hit hard with flooding, tornadoes, and the hurricane.

At Xmas, they were still living in crappy little white trailers. In
Feb. 2006, they're being kicked out, expected to find affordable
housing near where they earn their livelihoods.