Standing by his libertarian principles, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul reiterated his opposition to the Federal Emergency Management Agency when he said victims of the deadly tornadoes that hit Kentucky should not receive federal aid.
Last week, a series of storms across the South and Midwest caused injury, property damage and killed dozens, including small towns in Kentucky and southern Indiana.
The Texas congressman said the role of the federal government is to restore order and provide shelter through the National Guard, but that people affected by the storms should buy insurance instead.
“The people who live in tornado alley, just as I live in hurricane alley, they should have insurance,” he said.
Rather than federal funds, Paul argues there is plenty of generous and compassionate Americans who are willing to give after a disaster hits.
Ironically, Congressman Paul’s son, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has also been a libertarian voice in Congress, wrote a letter to President Obama on Monday morning urging him to support a request for a major disaster declaration for Kentucky that would result in federal funds being released.
SOURCE
Last week, a series of storms across the South and Midwest caused injury, property damage and killed dozens, including small towns in Kentucky and southern Indiana.
The Texas congressman said the role of the federal government is to restore order and provide shelter through the National Guard, but that people affected by the storms should buy insurance instead.
“The people who live in tornado alley, just as I live in hurricane alley, they should have insurance,” he said.
Rather than federal funds, Paul argues there is plenty of generous and compassionate Americans who are willing to give after a disaster hits.
Ironically, Congressman Paul’s son, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has also been a libertarian voice in Congress, wrote a letter to President Obama on Monday morning urging him to support a request for a major disaster declaration for Kentucky that would result in federal funds being released.
SOURCE
UGH. My brother stans this man like nothing else and I am pretty sure he has been brainwashed.
There is no "hurricane alley," you blithering idiot! Also, not everyone can afford insurance--and many insurances don't cover specific common natural disasters in certain areas. AND... insurance doesn't do anything to repair basic civic infrastructure. Nor does insurance provide immediate support to someone whose entire house has just been reduced to rubble. No mailbox, no mailed checks!
Damnit, I hate this guy so much.
ALSO, where does he live in hurricane alley? - isn't he from Texas? Is Tx actually part of HA.
Edited at 2012-03-06 01:42 am (UTC)
When I read this, I thought "Ron Paul is still talking?" He must still think he's running. (Bludstone is still MIA, so probably.)
Ron Paul is ridiculous. Ugh.
Man oh man. WARNING YOU ALL NOW, THIS IS A SORE SPOT. Nineteen years ago my house, church, and about half the houses in my community at the time, were destroyed in a tornado. In Alabama, tornadoes are expected, sure. My perspective is slightly different as my grandmother wasn't a homeowner; in her case, however, she did not have renter's insurance (or a telephone, or cable TV, or new cars etc). Things called "buying groceries" and "clothing a growing kid with health problems" won out priority there, and we were flat broke from moving into into our own place three weeks before the tornado hit, after not being able to financially afford a house of our own for a year and a half prior.
Did the community help? Sure did, as much as a community hit like ours could be. Belk's and Dillard's from a nearby town donated massive piles of clothing for us to go through and pick out what we needed. Volunteer organizations gave us shelf-stable groceries, and individuals helped us move what we could salvage out of the crumpled mess that was our 100+ year old rental home.
Without federal financial assistance, however, we would have been royally fucked. It bought clothes when most of ours were no longer wearable due to tiny pieces of imbedded glass or water damage or having mostly been on the clothesline that morning. It bought dishes and blankets and soap and deodorant and a month of storage facilities and two months of a temporary rental so we would no longer be sleeping on various relatives' couches and eventually helped us get a long-term place to live.
Having to choose between renter's insurance and keeping us fed and housed, I'm sure my grandmother would have made the same decision. She worked a physically debilitating job making what was considered a good wage for the area but would be considered ridiculous in more populated areas even then just to keep us afloat, which didn't always happen. But she paid taxes just like everyone else, and thus she deserved the relatively meager federal assistance we received. Even if we had insurance, as a former employee in the insurance field, I know from experience that shit takes its sweet-ass time paying out. Ron Paul's way basically says "fuck the poor, this is social and economical survival of the fittest." If he thinks some magical converging of money is going to happen out of pocket and take care of things, he is mistaken and also fortunate to be wealthy enough to withstand this kind of disaster if it happened to him.
TL;DR: Fuck Ron Paul. (As if I didn't say that every day anyway.)
Edited at 2012-03-06 07:31 am (UTC)
A guy was arguing with me on twitter about ~moral hazard~, i guess some buzzword he learned at libertarian conference. And how the government is so corrupt and people hit by tornadoes are taking tax payers money. There's this huge misconception that people without home insurance or renters insurance apparently get a new house from FEMA
I agree with ron paul that there is no need for a FEDERAL agency. The states each have their own, and can help neighboring states when in need. Its simply a shift of responsibility from federal to local level.
You also should kinda have insurance against these things. Thats just responsibility. If you are inclined to, you should help people.
He wrote some stuff about it here:
http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/201