FEMA will start charging trailer dwellers $800 a month in May

The penalty could be even more severe in New Orleans, where City Hall recently began notifying trailer occupants that they could be fined an additional $500 a day, up to $15,575, if they don't remove the units from their property, Chief Administrative Officer Andy Kopplin said Thursday.

FEMA trailers

I wasn't aware that there were still people living in the trailers. I don't even know what to say about this. It's very sad that people have not been able to recover from the disaster. Or, is it that they are choosing to stay in the trailers because they are free? All I do know is that the trailers were mass produced on such short notice that they weren't put together the best. I have a couple of friends who worked for a company building and hauling the trailers, and they had a lot of stories about the poor construction of them. I hope these people aren't charged for living in these trailers, I also hope FEMA will live up to what they said in the article about helping people find housing.

Charging these people would just add insult to injury.

No offense but it's been how many years since that disaster and these people are still living on the gov dime?

It was never meant to be a permanent solution and the program was meant to end in '09.
People do need to move out and move on.

makes you wonder if there rounding the trailers up for the next event

reply to post by majestic3


So, what if they are? That is what they are for.
Emergencies.

Didnt they all get free money cards too? On TV, I saw a few people paying for tattoos with them.

Originally posted by Fitch303
No offense but it's been how many years since that disaster and these people are still living on the gov dime?

Most of those people already were on the gov dime.

Those people lost everything they had, when the government measures in place to protect the populace from a hurricane, failed miserably.

Those p*iks at FEMA ought to be brought before a Senate panel and charged with gross negligence, then be busted up into 50 separate state emergency programs.

reply to post by SunTzu22


This is true. I for one, am not diminishing what they lost. Thankfully, it was not their lives.

However, there does come a time when one must pick themselves up and move on. The Govt. is not (IMHO) responsible for this, forever. The program was temporary. It has already surpassed its deadline by almost 2 years.

It's time for them to move.

*Let us not forget that people throughout this country lose all they have, many times over. It's a fact of life. It can and will happen. Does not mean one's life ends, nor does it mean one must be supported forever, thereafter.

Originally posted by majestic3
makes you wonder if there rounding the trailers up for the next event

No, they're selling the things. I'm east of Austin a bit, and on highway 71 there are at least a hundred for sale from 3 to 4 thousand bucks. Several months ago FEMA sold, I believe it was, 1.6 million of them in huge lots at giveaway prices. I understand many of them were stripped out by the former inhabitants and thieves. They should have been stored and kept for additional emergencies. If for nothing else than for emergency housing for those dispossessed from their homes. When will this situation qualify as a national emergency? Oh, I forgot the camps are for that purpose once those poor folks get rowdy.

Originally posted by SUICIDEHK45It's very sad that people have not been able to recover from the disaster. Or, is it that they are choosing to stay in the trailers because they are free?

Charging these people would just add insult to injury.

I hope that's rhetorical - of course they are freeloading. It sucks to lose your stuff but 5 years or so with free rent is more than enough "boost" or "assistance" for anyone to get their Shiite together.

Making them pay will be the only thing that motivates the freeloaders to get off the teat.

This is what's wrong with our nation - we are all about helping people and indulging them for their poor choices but we have no stomach for setting any limits on the very behavior that lead to the problems in the first place.

Likely these people had little to nothing before the disaster nor will they ever - what they lack is some combination of skill, ability and drive to succeed in society.

While all people may have equal opportunity we certainly are many and varied when it comes to our drive and ability to take it.

Originally posted by LadySkadi
reply to post by SunTzu22

 

This is true. I for one, am not diminishing what they lost. Thankfully, it was not their lives.

However, there does come a time when one must pick themselves up and move on. The Govt. is not (IMHO) responsible for this, forever. The program was temporary. It has already surpassed its deadline by almost 2 years.

It's time for them to move.

*Let us not forget that people throughout this country lose all they have, many times over. It's a fact of life. It can and will happen. Does not mean one's life ends, nor does it mean one must be supported forever, thereafter.

Unless this country is prepared to manage the number of citizens it can provide for in a capitalist democracy, it had better be prepared to support the surplus population.

Those impoverished people of our nation are in that predicament, because our system doesn't have a plan in place to deal with such a large and ever growing population. This is a problem that is an eventuallity of a greed based economy and political philosophy.

Must Love Government. Musn't we?

You have to love gov't that kicks people to death when they are down. Don't you?

Every callous poster on this thread could pick themselves up and move on when it happens in their town? Right?

Just one big happy family, the USA. Isn't it?

reply to post by Chakotay


Well to be fair, we the people provide far to tempting a target to pass up in anybodys book.

We sit around, waiting for things to somehow get better, while the rich farm us like the sheep that we are.

The people are gonna have to go hard if they are ever gonna have a chance to stick it to the p ricks that pillagle our society.

reply to post by Golf66


The problem is--actually, it is the sum of several problems--is my understanding that 66% of New Orleans residents were on one sort of governmental aid or another. That means the were/are very poor folks. Given that situation, how can they ever pull themselves up from being beat down?

FEMA tralers so they must pay!

FEMA Must make the homes livable.
if FEMA are land lords there is a lot of things they must do.

I understand that they lost everything, I've been there myself. What I don't understand is why they do nothing to further themselves. I mean, how long were they expecting to stay in these temp trailers? Did any of them have a long term plan or goal to move past their current situation?

It has been over 5 years since Katrina hit, 5 years of no rent/mortgage payments for those still in the trailers (168 families from what I read). If each of them had taken $500 a month and saved it, they would now have 30,000 to either work on the rebuild of their home or move.

Move that 500 up to 750, closer to an actual rent or mortgage payment, and you end up with 45,000.

Either way, that would equal more than enough to move to pretty much any place in the country or to buy a lot of building supplies to get their homes back to a livable condition. I'm sorry, but at this point, I see no excuse for them to still be in the trailers.

Edit to add: there was also many programs to help rebuild the homes or relocate. The money was there to move on, but for whatever reason, these families didn't.

You know what, FEMA can go to hell!

My mother and father live on property with one of those trailers while I FIX THE HOME. My mom can't hardly walk anymore and my dad has disability from the first Iraq war.

It pisses me off 3 years after how I seen kids bragging how FEMA gave them this and that and they were driving around a new car and had a new modular when before they had nothing to begin But on my family, WE had to fix the home, WE had to flip the bill, FEMA has done nothing!

So to those that think 5 years this and that no excuse, you try fixing a home on a certain amount of income in this economy with no help from your government.

Some people need to just shut up when they try to impose they know it all.

I paid 5,300 for a new roof right after, insurance paid for some, but they did such a crappy job, I had to re roof a year later and FEMA pointed them towards us, and then they didn't want to help after they #ed it up and caught of out town.

I know alot about FEMA i know folks who work for both FEMA AND MEMA, they don't know wtf they are doing!

My point is everything is not always how it seems, there is always stories you never here of or understand.

Basically this is just the bottom line no need to even try to debate it cause it is what it is and thats all there is to it!

We got #ed by FEMA cause we were honest. We didn't try to suck out, we are in the realm of people that REALLY got the shaft from FEMA!

Thats all.

reply to post by JAGx1981


Good post...

I guarantee that all these heartless posters would not be able to have the testicular fortitude to knock on these peoples doors and tell them to GTFO.

But they like to act like they know everything and everybody's situation from behind their computer screen. Neocons love to see homeless people.. It's one thing they take immense joy in.

Also one more little thing to add. We haven't recieved one cent from FEMA, yet we had our entire roof, electrical, and drywall completely destroyed.

Now since we never recieved nothing but the trailer, we wanted to purchase.

First it was 2 dollars for one, then it was 200 for a modular, now it is auction.

So then I go to the auction right.

Nope ain't happening!

You have big fat ass rednecks slinging out 10 grand per unit and the minority of us can't even get a damn bid in!

Then you see the the rich folks in the back laughing and joking with the head dawgs of it, they think we dont see them but I do.

So basically there is nothing to do, I informed them they can take this trailer and shove it up their ass. I still have alot of drywall to do but it is almost liveable for them and I don't need no help, just could have used it.

I am proud I took care of my own!