Fort Worth SBA office involved in Katrina failures

[Robbien]

Source: Star-Telegram

CHALMETTE, La. -- Five years after Hurricane Katrina, Jay Young is still haunted by the desperate voices on the other end of the telephone crying and begging for help.

As a Fort Worth-based loan officer for the Small Business Administration, an agency supposed to help homeowners and businesses get back on their feet, he had high expectations that he could make a difference. But he recalls how he was forced to turn away many qualified applicants because of what he says was pressure from his supervisors to close files quickly

. . .

Country clubs, yacht clubs, exclusive private schools and megachurches received millions in loans from the agency, which was founded in 1953 with a mission to "aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns." Some of the more substantial operations rebuilt bigger and better, although SBA rules say damaged buildings should be repaired only to their original state.

Homeowners and businesses in higher-income areas were more likely to get a loan than those in lower-income areas, according to AP's analysis of SBA data by ZIP code.

"The truth is that only the wealthy moved through the system easily," said Gale Martin, another former SBA loan officer. Martin contended that applicants with higher credit scores and bigger incomes were processed first.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/08/23/2420054/fort-worth-sba-office-involved.html

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A very revealing article. It goes on to talk about how the system got so gridlocked the office stopped answering their phones since talking to applicants just slowed them down even more. One quote stands out:

"People called in every day crying and begging," Martin said. "We were forced to do things that were wrong."


Even sadder, this is the same system which is to help BP Gulf oil spill victims recover their businesses.

[mike r]

1. Red zoned by your own government

The rich always come out ahead.

[awoke_in_2003]

3. that is because...

they exercise the only true power in this country. The scene in DC is just bread and circus, an illusion to keep us distracted from reality. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

[aquart]

2. They kept their silence and kept their jobs?