What about all the displaced tenants, George?

[zippy890]

I have not heard any figures on the # of displaced people from New Orleans & other areas left homeless who had been renting apartments, but it’s safe to say it’s a lot of people. New Orleans is (was) a large city with a high % of low-income people – who rented, who couldn’t afford to own their own homes.

I suppose its TOO BAD for them, - they will get SH** from this government because you see under bush’s rules you get squat if you aren’t a homeowner -worse- you are not even considered deserving of anything, not any respect from anyone – its good riddance displaced public housing & subsidy tenants – you are bad rubbish in bush’s America.

The Dept of Housing & Urban Development is great these days on promoting their ‘Homeownership’ fantasy program. But read the fine print & look at the budget allocations* & what you see is a program geared to a small percentage of ‘working families’ (interpret: no public assistance/elderly/disabled people need apply).

This ‘Homeownership’ program looks great on paper but actually ends up assisting a fraction of a fraction of eligible families to actually buy a new home. In the meantime the poorest amongst us, and the rest of the working poor get the shaft big-time.*ditto

Did you know George, - (and all you lurking freepers) - that most of the recipients of TAFDC, public assistance, are CHILDREN? That those who receive SSI benefits are ELDERLY & DISABLED people? No, of course you didn’t, you’re too busy ignoring these Americans or blaming them for wasting tax dollars because they need to eat & a place to live.

These were the people we watched stranded in New Orleans after the hurricane – the majority were people with children, elderly and disabled people – this is America’s poor – and YES they are ENTITLED to decent, safe and sanitary housing – entitled, hear me George? I’m repeating because you are dense and stupid, and there are a lot lives at stake here, which you & others just don’t seem to get.

How about you Mr. Secretary of the Department of Housing & Urban Development? I realize you are a bush hack and a sorry POS http://www.house.gov/banking_democrats/pr052004.html But do you remember what this is supposed to mean?



Let me remind you – HUD has a statutory mandate to promote fair housing and fight housing discrimination, Oh, that’s right, I’m living in the past, when government agencies actually worked to enforce the law, not undermine it.

However I do believe its time NOW to pay attention to what you’re supposed to do here because there’s going to be a lot of housing discrimination going down in Baton Rouge & Houston & other areas and you better do something for these people. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY George, Alphonso, this is where we need the federal government to get out there and goddamn do its job.

FOR ONCE CAN YOU DO YOUR JOB? this is what we pay you and Congress and HUD to DO. Not to spend billions on Iraq, to provide the basics in this country in a time of need to our citizens.

We’re watching you, see, because we know how you operate & that you could really give a sh** about America, the real America, us.

[SoCalDem]

1. "Those people" are gone..no more "problem" for NOLA

They are being assimilated into their "new states", and since they were poor before and poor now, their lives will change very little.. Their "host communities" will applu for, and GET money to "foster" them for a while, and once they have gotten subsistence jobs elsewhere, they will be removed from the "needs help" list..Should they desire to go back to NOLA, they will be facing HUGE rents at the new McCondoVillage..

[zippy890]

2. thats the problem

I've read where Baton Rouge doesn't want them, & the mayor of Houston told a reporter 'we don't have public housing, we have Vouchers'

translated - we don't want your kind here,**door closes/phone hung up**

this is discrimination & the feds used to be involved in outreach to landlords & promoting thier rental voucher program. Its what they are supposed to do.

[SoCalDem]

3. The admin (who is very happy to see a redder louisiana) doesn't care

They have transferred the "problem" elsewhere, and in exchange have a "do-over" with New Orleans. they can shape it any way they like. They have THREE years to set all the cogs in motion. The next president will either be the goat for trying to change direction or the fool for continuing to pour money into the republican design.. It;s a lose-lose.

The Southern Re-Do is GWB's "Somalia". I see Poppy's hand prints all over this deal..

Money, and lots of it will flow into the Gulf (very red), and the angst of it all will fade...the true-New Orleans evacuees will have little to go back to. Their apartments are gone, and the leadership will have changed by then. They are simply no longer welcome there..


Truth be told, they should have never been bused out of Louisiana. They should have remained in Louisiana, even if a new town needed to be created around them.. The resources and donations are THERE...but will not be used for them..They are someone else's problem now

When people donated to Red Cross, they were donating for the people at the Dome and the Convention Center...not for the "shopkeeper" in the Quarter....

[TahitiNut]

4. Not only are they 'entitled' ... they are deserving.

"Entitlement" literally means that government identifies them and confers to them some legally designated power or due. These particular entitlements have certain explicit qualifications -- qualifications these people have met.

Sometimes, the qualification for an entitlement is merely being the son or daughter of someone else ... like "Prince" or "Princess." Those are "titles." A "title" can also be authority/power over the use of real property. (That's why it's called a "title" and ownership is an entitlement.)

We must always remember that an entitlement is created and enforced by government, whether that government is a democracy or monarchy.

Entitlements are not rights. (This is something we frequently forget.)

There is no such thing as "ownership" (distinct from physical possession) except through the (coercive) force of government. Ownership is an entitlement

[Igel]

5. In Houston they're getting vouchers for 6 months' rent.

Not every place takes them. Many do. Amazingly, many are complaining that 3, 4, and 5-bedroom apartments are in short supply. Then again, this is Houston, and they have been for many a month; one- and two-bedroom apartments are known to the housing folks arranging apartments for 'citizens', but some get no takers.

During those 6 months, many 'citizens' will get money for food and utilities. Many 'citizens' won't; apparently the latter aren't real Americans.

At the end, they still won't all be qualified to do medical research or build bridges, but they'll still be expected to have some sort of job.