As if the government (both federal & state) shouldn’t be ashamed enough by their response to Hurricane Katrina, now there’s this:
Mississippi plans Katrina grant diversion
State wants $600 million from housing program for huge port expansionWhile thousands of Mississippians who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina remain in FEMA trailers, the state intends to spend $600 million in federal grants originally earmarked for housing on a major expansion of the state-owned port — a project that could eventually include casino and resort facilities.
Despite strong objections from housing activists and the threat of hearings from two powerful congressional Democrats, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is expected to approve the diversion of the funds on Friday. A HUD spokesman says the agency has little discretion at this point to block the switch.
Opponents of the move see it as a prime example of Mississippi’s Republican lobbyist-turned-governor, Haley Barbour, favoring rich and powerful interests over the region’s less fortunate.
…
The money in question is part of $5.5 billion in HUD Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) that Congress authorized for Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005. Administered by the Mississippi Development Authority, about $3.4 billion was allocated to replace and repair some of the nearly 170,000 owner-occupied homes destroyed or damaged by the storm. Another $600 million was set aside for programs to replace public housing, help small landlords fix their units and foster construction of new low- and moderate-income housing.
HUD has "little discretion" to block the switch? Try telling that to the people still living in the potentially toxic FEMA trailers. Can’t the President give HUD that authority? I understand the need and desire to create new jobs in the area, but shouldn’t our first priority be to help get these people out of the FEMA trailers and into real housing? Wouldn’t using the $600 million towards its original purpose of replacing public housing and fostering construction of new low- and moderate-income housing also help create jobs and stimulate the local economy?
Or is it that because the people that this money was earmarked for, the poor and lower middle class, don’t have lobbyists of their own that the money is being diverted? I mean who cares if they’re still living in FEMA trailers as long as the rich have their resorts and casinos, right?
This just reeks of powerful lobbying and wealthy special interests which, unfortunately, is just way too common in America these days.
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Sad to say; politics; politics and more politics. Nothing has changed or will change. Pork barrel is alive and well.
Crail’s last blog post..Another voice from the past
Scott, you finally got me off my ass to write a rant about the basics we were supposed to learn in Social Studies: the fact that our public servants (a term that you never hear anymore) are supposed to be working for us not their special interests. And remind everyone that we pay our representatives, too, with our tax dollars. With so much corruption, it’s easy to adopt a defeatist attitude and many Americans — I believe — have, which in turn has led them to become isolationists within their own country.
Never before in our history has it been so easy to sign a petition or write your representative. Hell, many organizations will send a letter for you on things you like to say. You simply have to fill out an extremely short form. How easy it that?
Change can be done if more people voice their concern and stop being so wrapped up in their own lives ALL the time. Take 30 minutes to voice them. It can’t hurt and who knows, it might actually help. We haven’t dived into fascism yet.
Call me a rose-colored-glasses-wearing optimistic if you will, but if history is still repeating itself then this country will unfortunately be due for some sort of revolution in the next few decades — whether it is civil or violent, comes from within the country or out, we should do want we can individually to affect the changes that we think are fair.
That is until someone decides they are going to take their first-strike option and then we end up in Bartertown being ruled by Master Blaster, won’t we, Raggedy Man?
Howard’s last blog post..Ironic Headline Of The Day
Thanks for writing about this. It does reek to high heaven. I’m writing about it, too. In light of the talk of a Congressional hearing reported by the AP today, I am encouraging people to keep writing about it this weekend and bring as much attention to it as possible before it gets buried by the SOTU speech. I’ll come back and take a good look around here as soon as I have time
geneo’s last blog post..Haley Barbour Eats Children
sad, but not surprising.
where is the outrage? and the action towards it all?
Urspo’s last blog post..Spo-Reflections on Eating Alone
I’m from the northern part of MS and I still think this is stupid. Haley Barbour bought his first election 4 yrs ago and has done everything in his power (which he has expanded greatly in violation of the state’s constitution) to uphold the values of big business ever since. Currently the only state-wide elected democrat in office the attorney general is fighting with the governor over when the special election should be held to replace Trent Lott. An early election favors the former Democratic Governor while a November election could favor the republican rep from North MS that Barbour has already appointed to fill the term until the election.