Lottery? What was that lottery stuff in the speech?

[wellstone_democrat]

I mercifully missed the speech and while conservo-bots around me upon my departure from the office were bitchin' and DU's speech threads are useful, what is this "lottery" that he was talking about?

Any nutshell versions out there on DU from watchers?

[question everything]

1. Read highlights

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4788846

To help lower-income citizens in the hurricane region build new and better lives, I also propose that Congress pass an Urban Homesteading Act. Under this approach, we will identify property in the region owned by the federal government, and provide building sites to low-income citizens free of charge, through a lottery. In return, they would pledge to build on the lot, with either a mortgage or help from a charitable organization like Habitat for Humanity. Homeownership is one of the great strengths of any community, and it must be a central part of our vision for the revival of this region.

[sandnsea]

2. Ethnic Relocation

Take federal properties (housing projects) and let a few folks who can qualify for home ownership participate in a lottery to build on the seized federal land. Own instead of rent, wohoo! Except, even Habitat for Humanity has income and credit requirements so thousands of poor people will have no housing to come back to in New Orleans.

[Brother Buzz]

3. Cripes, the last time I got involved in a government lottery

I got relocated, too! Relocated with a two year no-cut contract into the "Mean Green Killing Machine".

[mestup]

4. Yep.

"...we will identify property in the region owned by the federal government..."

Govt-owned land in the greater-metro New Orleans area?

Beyond housing projects, like what. Post offices?

[sandnsea]

5. VA hospital?

Social service offices? Head Start buildings? :shrug:

I guarantee it ain't the federal court!

[NYC]

6. Wetlands?

?

[sandnsea]

9. That's just depressing n/t

[Spike from MN]

14. Instead of the fed government spending money to build housing

projects, we'll make the poor shell out their $$ to build them. I'm sure those peole making minimum wage (if/when they get their jobs back) will be delighted to know they can apply for a mortgage they can't afford. Of course, the alternative is to have Habitat for Humanity pick up the tab. Gotta save them federal dollars for Dubya's buddies at Halliburton and Bechtel. The goddamn bastard just keeps coming up with new ways to screw the poor while funneling our tax dollars to his rich buddies. Can't be spending tax dollars on wasteful things like low-income housing. At least, that's the way I interpreted it last night. At that point in his speech, I muted the volume and started reading a book. I had heard everything I needed to hear from the Chimperor.

"They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

The only time Dubya has actually been honest. NO just gave him yet another opportunity to screw over the poor.

[Dover]

7. Actually this may be a convenient backdoor to the selling off of fed land

to the highest bidder (guess who that might be?). This is something that the Bushies have been trying to implement from the getgo. It was a plan to sell off fed park lands through a lottery and this leaked out when Bush first ran for prez, setting off alarms with the Environmentalists and others. Needless to say it was quickly shoved under the rug. In fact the wealthy Bush Buddies have probably been sitting around for some time planning to divide up the spoils of a shattered nation, and only have to implement it at opportune times...when the people are distracted by more immediate necessities. They are indeed opportunists and know that this disaster has opened the door for the implementation of some of these plans, initially under the guise of charitable emergency efforts.
Wolves in sheeps clothing.

[mestup]

8. Wow. Thanks for the post.

I was being flippant about federal property in NO, but I just did a Google search of "Bush federal park lands sell" and it's pretty scary.

(I don't know why they even bother with the sheep's clothing anymore.)

[unblock]

10. right, they'll sell of the previously protected land to the poor, who will

then "build" on it. eventually, they will sell it to giant corporations. this may happen the next day or it may happen10 years later. the point is, once the property has been converted to private use, eventually the corporations can own it and build a disney park or a casino or a walmart or whatever.

i'll bet that there's a clause in there requiring that the land be dual zoned for residential or commercial use, in the guise of protecting small businesses.


think about it. why lottery off the federal land? there's already a ton of private land than many have abandoned an will never return to. just rehabilitate the existing private land instead of adding land to mix!

[Dover]

11. OR it might be a way just to put the process in place and make it an

acceptable way to purchase fed land. They don't have to wait until the parcels that they give for the rebuilding efforts are turned over(sold). They can afford to sacrifice relatively small parcels of undesirable land in order to provide the catalyst for implementing their plans to purchase larger, more desirable parcels (those with the natural resources). Think 'Indian Reservations' as a model.

[nonconformist]

12. It made me think of the movie "Deep Impact"

I wish Morgan Freeman was our president. :(

[ScreamingMeemie]

13. It's a great idea thought up by Shirley Jackson. Bush was going to

with a "Modest Proposal", but the results from the test market group weren't in yet.