Federal government denies individual assistance for Dec. 26 storm victims
The damaged but saved Rowlett water tower on Martha Drive in the southeast portion of the city in days after the tornado in Rowlett, Texas on December 30, 2015. (Nathan Hunsinger The Dallas Morning News)
Texas’ application for individual assistance for the Dec. 26 tornadoes has been denied because the threshold for government relief for uninsured and underinsured property owners had not been met. SOURCE
Dallas Morning News got it wrong. The tornado that hit this area was on the afternoon of Dec. 26, 2015, I know, I was there. The headline is correct but the caption on the picture is wrong.
This is in response to Patrick Owens and his comment on the Dallas Morning News regarding secession from the Union.
Yes, many of us wanted to secede, many still do, but that, in and of itself is NO reason to deny help to individuals after a disaster. As soon as Flint, MI announced that THEY had tainted water FEMA was all over it.
We are Texans, but we are also Americans, maybe not by choice, many would prefer to be Texans only, but the fact remains; we are still TAX PAYERS and we have people here that are hurting.
This is in response regarding comments about the Texas Rainy Day Fund.
According to a story I found in archives on the Dallas Morning News, the Texas State Comptroller’s Office states that there is over $8.5 BILLION dollars in that rainy day fund.
I am not sure what the criteria is for usage of the Rainy Day fund or what it takes to qualify for a release of some of those funds but if helping people to recover from an EF-4 tornado that brought so much damage and devastation to so many right here in North Texas isn’t a viable, and darned good reason, then I don’t know what is.
A 75% FEMA reimbursement to the city for their expenditures is a great thing, and I am truly appreciative of that effort, but the *little guy*, the folks that work every day, pay taxes and make this town, county and state great are really hurting.
Donations from folks that weren’t affected by the tornado have poured in, food, clothing, shelter and money, and without those donations from other Texans, and people all of the United States, we would have people that could be dead from exposure or starving.
I know personally that some donations came from people that were actually affected by the storm but not to the extent and level of destruction that many of our neighbors were.
I live in Rowlett and our City has done a magnificent job in responding to this disaster.
Mayor Todd Gottel, City Manager Brian Funderburk and the entire workforce of the City, as well as most of our City Council members have worked tirelessly to help those in need, but a City only has so much money that can be spent and Rowlett, has already gone above and beyond what I would have expected in their level of help to all concerned, and I have some very high levels of expectations!
Kinda makes a state wonder why the pay federal taxes to the govt. One would hope that a state would get its money’s worth when you give all that money to a centralized federal govt. I bet most states could do without all federal assistance if it kept the money it pays in federal taxes. In fact, the federal govt would come to a screeching halt if the states quit paying them.
This is also another reason I hate Woodrow Wilson. He is the one that initiated federal income tax, which is what gave the centralized govt all that money to grow itself into the behemoth it is today. Before that, the govt had to subsist on tariffs and smaller federal taxes that pretty much paid for the small govt that we so desire today.
This is nonsense. If a blizzard hits chicago, the fed money would pour in. Hell, didn’t baltimore get help due to it’s local govt giving apes room to be apes?
Every time I see stories like this, I hear the revolution preparing itself. We need to…..we MUST put the federal govt back to what it was supposed to be. We need to get it out of the states business, schools, the environment, property ownership, and on and on and on. But in the mean time, if We The People give our hard earned money to feds, then we damn well better get some of it back when it’s needed…and it looks like in Rowlett, it’s needed.
We’re too WHITE and too Conservative, Obama and Company don’t give a damn about We, The White People… And so you know, there were a lot of Black and Hispanic families that really got hurt in this too..
Maybe Obama and Company just hate Texas in general…
I don’t think they hate Texas in general, its just that they love Mexico, the Palestinians, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Arab Gulf States, and any third-world crap-hole nation more. And, they send them our money today to rebuild the infrastructure they blew up yesterday. What could any of our cities done with the $43 million spent on a gas station and build-out in Iraq? http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-spent-43-million-afghanistan-gas-station-sigar-report-n454036
It’s probably because not enough Lives That Matter© were affected …
Exactly correct, but *some* were effected…
Fred,
Obviously you do not understand how government works. A “rainy day” fund is money to continue paying unionized municipal workers during a budgetary shortfall. And it is most likely to be disbursed during bad times that occur near elections.
I would have assumed that Texas works much like California when it comes to disasters. One, the governor declares a “state of emergency” and requests the President to make a disaster declaration, then FEMA is enabled to make individual no-repayment grants or low-cost loans to those who qualify for assistance. The whole process can be found in http://www.fema.gov/pdf/rrr/dec_proc.pdf.
You’re right, I don’t understand… Especially the part about the Feds being the biggest crooks to ever hit this nation… 🙁
Thanks for that link to FEMA, might come in very handy at some time in the future…
There are a lot who still don’t like that we here in Texas still fly our Rebel flags. And like everything else they want to make something out of it, that just isn’t there. It took the president over a month to declare Texas a state of emergency, but, he sure didn’t have a problem with all the other states that were hit.
I tell you, if Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, he would be giving a new speech that would go more like “I had a dream of our people and nation coming together as one. However, my people you have done just the opposite of that, you have made everything about color, taken God out of everything, and only want to fight with each other and our nation. I’m truly disappointed in where you have taken my dream for our further.”
Let me tell you why: because those areas are NOT high population centers, you do not consist of a high minority population, those areas do not historically vote bulk Demorat, and because you are Texans.
Literally, it is no more complicated than that. DC wants your money and wants you to shut the fuck up. Bend over, take your reaming, continue your cash flow.
DC wants you to say “thank you sir, may I have another?”
BZ
This is why after two terms of a Democrat not worth …. that will be taken care of through the next election. Your use you foul mouth to make your comments due to your education or up bring didn’t teach you any better. Other wise you would know how to talk proper.
As for the areas not being high population areas, there were over 1400 home alone lost. This is not including, apartments or business. My children go to school with children who still do not have a home to go to when they leave school. Our children’s Pediatricians office was taken out by the category 4 tornado. There are people who lived though the tornado that go though PTSD when the sky gets dark, the wind picks up, etc., due to the fear of another one, because they were in their homes as it was ripped apart around them.
You have NO RIGHT to use your foul mouth to talk about these people, their homes, their political party, or anything else for that matter. All you want to do is go on here and be a bully. You deserve no respect….why don’t you come and work with these people, or if it happens to you, maybe, you’ll get lucky and have good people help you out one day.
Obama is punishing the white people! Only negroid welfare leeches get his blessing and therefore get Government payments. Probably also illegal aliens.
White citizens are definitely being discriminated against!
So,,,,how do you feel now whitey????
This is why I think Donald Trump would be a great president. He sees how our money is being spent and the tremendous amount that is wasted on grants and welfare to nations that hate us. It seems that after every disaster the government steps back and relies on the citizen to donate time and money to aid the affected. Friends I have on Staten Island and down the Jersey shore are still rebounding after the hurricane. By making America great again, he means to put us, the citizen ahead of all the nonsensical programs the progressive liberals have put in place to ensure their re- election. Conservatism as we have known it is a dead issue. Look at what they have done for us after giving them the House and the Senate. It’s a joke! After every catastrophic event our government should be bending over backward to get things straightened out. Maybe if you guys in Rowlett promised to build a mosque you’d get a rapid response from the HNIC.
Wayne, with all due respect, Donald Trump is every bit a progressive as Hillary Clinton; complete with corruption and cronyism. If you look closely, he is for a large powerful government that is better administered and managed by an enlightened elite. Whoops — that’s the socialist plan for America. If you look at Trump’s plans and his associations, you will find little or no difference between Trump and the other members of the establishment.
So, respectfully, I suggest you take another look at Cruz; not the most appealing guy in the race, but the closest thing to respecting the constitution that we have.
Truth-be-told, Trump is a celebrity — and as a businessman, has pandered to the wealthy, not the poor. At least his father was into affordable housing and a quality affordable product. Without his father’s connections, contractors, fixers, politicians, and wealth, Trump would have never succeeded on talent alone. He is not stupid, he is self-absorbed and single-minded. Bottom line: Trump was born on third base and tells everyone he hit a home run. With Trump, he is likely to deal to assuage his ego and legacy. I fear greatly for the Supreme Court under a President Trump. At least Cruz has great experience with the Supreme Court.
I simply disagree. The Republicans can say all the right things and get away with doing nothing. The Democrats are so far left that the conservatives and libertarians are being called far right extremists. I believe Trump will be the force to turn this country away from it’s rush to a global economy. I don’t like the thought that we need an experienced politician to straighten things out because it’s the experienced politician that got us into this mess. Trump will re visit the laws that allow companies to relocate offshore and hopefully reignite our manufacturing base. American jobs for American citizens. Also he will crack down on the remittance that allows Mexico to receive more money from the remittance of wages earned by citizens of Mexico working here than it receives by selling oil. By the way, I don’t believe that the Donald is a progressive (Marxist). I have my opinion OCS, you have yours and we just disagree.
OK — we agree to disagree. I just do not trust someone who is willing to make every issue a negotiation and deal away my rights to satisfy his ego. I have studied his past lawsuits, history, and all I see is unpredictability and collaboration with unsavory characters. I could be wrong, but I believe he is another unknown like Obama. Enuf said.