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September 01, 2005
Insurance Fraud on My Mind
Tens of thousands of people have been abandoned, in the face of predictable situation, packed into a superstadium without enough water or food, without sanitation, and worst of all, without the kind of organization that is necessary to keep tens of thousands of people at least safe, if not comfortable.
And what does President Bush warn us about? Insurance fraud. Yes, insurance fraud. And gas prices.
The president urged a crackdown on the lawlessness."I think there ought to be zero tolerance of people breaking the law during an emergency such as this — whether it be looting, or price gouging at the gasoline pump, or taking advantage of charitable giving or insurance fraud," Bush said. "And I've made that clear to our attorney general. The citizens ought to be working together."
I am so appalled by the conditions down there, it's hard to express. Why wasn't water and food airlifted as soon as Hurricane Katrina moved on? Isn't there anyone in FEMA who has thought for a minute about what happens if tens of thousands of people are placed for days into a structure built to house them for a few hours? How can there not be enough water stacked beforehand? Why aren't there portable toilets by the hundreds, which are quite easy to set up? Why aren't hundreds of doctors and nurses housed with these people?
How can the richest country on earth be unable to take care of a few cities in trouble -- one that was predicted days in advance? And how can insurance fraud really be what moves our president to words at this point in time?
It's almost as if our foreign policy has been turned inward.
Posted by zeynep at September 1, 2005 09:11 PM