Author Archives: recoverydiva

Sad Take on FEMA

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From CNN, this discouraging report.  Mostly negative account of the recent hurricanes and Brock Long’s ability as FEMA Administrator. See: Hellish summer of hurricanes smashes FEMA.

The Diva thinks we do know better and can do better as a nation. She would like to hear from readers on this topic.

For example, back in 1992, after the federal response to Hurricane Andrew went badly, Congress mandated a study of that response by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). Their final report, Coping with Catastrophe was an in-depth examination of the federal disaster response system and made recommendations that were followed by FEMA in the following years.

As I have suggested before, when faced with a major failure of a federal agency or program, go to organizations like NAPA or the National Academy of Sciences for an expert panel and serious advice. Of course, this assumes a receptive administration to implement the recommendations.

Update: Please see comments attached to posting. And see also this related blog post by Eric Holdeman.

FEMA Spending Criticized by DHS IG

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The news goes from bad to worse these days for FEMA. This Newsweek article cites a report by the Inspector General of the Dept. of Homeland Security. See: FEMA Wasted Billions of Taxpayer Dollars And May Have Broken The Law

The cash-strapped federal disaster agency charged with distributing billions to hurricane survivors and wildfire-ravaged communities is reportedly failing to properly track disaster-relief payments, putting taxpayer money—and victims themselves—at risk for fraud, waste and abuse, a new government report shows.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to follow recommendations from a 2011 report by its own Inspector General instructing the agency to implement a system to track insurance information—a failure that led to potentially billions of wasted taxpayers dollars, according to a Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General’s “Semiannual Report to The Congress.”

Pending Tax Plan Will Cut Disaster-Related Deductions for Victims

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From the Los Angeles Times: Thanks to Trump’s tax plan, victims of disasters large and small are about to get scrooged. CA fire victims will have additional financial problems if the law passes as it is presently.

President Trump and Republican congressional leaders are desperate to “achieve” something — anything — by Christmas. One goal is to deliver a lump of coal to disaster victims. The victims include future burned-out homeowners in wildfires.

It’s one of several whammies hitting middle-class Americans from the GOP tax plan, especially in California and other high-tax states. Among other things, Republicans are set on eliminating the tax deduction for uninsured casualty losses unless a national disaster is declared. People with personal property damaged by disaster currently can deduct the uninsured loss when itemizing on their federal tax returns. Only the dollar amount that exceeds 10% of adjusted gross income can be deducted. But that is quickly reached when a home is destroyed.

In California, we’re regularly ravaged by wildfires, floods and earthquakes. Someday, there’ll be “the big one.” Other states suffer from tornadoes and hurricanes. Also tax-deductible are losses from accidents, thefts and vandalism.

Here is a related article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-wildfires-insurance/as-california-fires-blaze-homeowners-fear-losing-insurance-idUSKBN1EC1DW

Schooling Lost After Disasters

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From NPR, a discussion of an aspect of disaster recovery that is not usually considered. See: Natural Disasters And The Implications Of Missing So Much School.

Amidst the trauma and destruction, school districts across the U.S. have shouldered a heavy burden: trying to help their students catch up after missing days, weeks and even months of class time.

Across nine states, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, at least 9 million students missed some amount of school this fall due to a natural disaster, according to an NPR Ed analysis. The analysis compiled missed days from individual public school districts affected by natural disasters as well as estimates given by state education departments.

Climate Change and City Credit Ratings

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When Climate Change Becomes a Credit Problem.

Coming in the aftermath of hurricanes that severely damaged parts of Houston and much of the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this year, the message from Moody’s was clear. Governments must prepare for heat waves, droughts, flooding and coastal storm surges or face credit downgrades that will make it more expensive for them to borrow money for public services and for improvements in roads, bridges and other infrastructure.