No Surprise Here
Not surprisingly, the Gulf Coast is still trying to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Also not suprisingly, the poor in Mississippi are still waiting for help while their wealthier neighbors and big businesses are grabbing 75% to 90% of the federal relief funds, according to this article in today's NY Times.
Like the other Gulf Coast states battered by Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi was required by Congress to spend half of its billions in federal grant money to help low-income citizens trying to recover from the storm.
But so far, the state has spent $1.7 billion in federal money on programs that have mostly benefited relatively affluent residents and big businesses. The money has gone to compensate many middle- and upper-income homeowners, to aid utility companies whose equipment was damaged and to prop up the state’s insurance system.
Just $167 million, or about 10 percent of the federal money, has been spent on programs dedicated to helping the poor, mostly through a smaller grant program for lower-income homeowners. ...
Mississippi is the only state for which the Bush administration has waived the rule that 50 percent of its Community Development Block Grants be spent on low-income programs, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which administers the program. It is also the only state to ask for such waivers. [Emphasis added]
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (former head of the Republic National Committee)justifies the disparate distribution by suggesting that getting people back to jobs is more important than fixing homes, but his argument is (not surprisingly) specious:
...the state plans to spend $600 million of the federal money to repair and improve its shipping port.
Though the expansion will increase employment here, historically very few port jobs have gone to low-income residents.
Some critics contend that the main interest of state leaders in spending community development dollars is to help big businesses like shipbuilders and casinos and the port.
And that's just fine with the current administration which apparently has taken Jesus' statement that "The poor you will always have with you" as a blueprint for governance.
Like the other Gulf Coast states battered by Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi was required by Congress to spend half of its billions in federal grant money to help low-income citizens trying to recover from the storm.
But so far, the state has spent $1.7 billion in federal money on programs that have mostly benefited relatively affluent residents and big businesses. The money has gone to compensate many middle- and upper-income homeowners, to aid utility companies whose equipment was damaged and to prop up the state’s insurance system.
Just $167 million, or about 10 percent of the federal money, has been spent on programs dedicated to helping the poor, mostly through a smaller grant program for lower-income homeowners. ...
Mississippi is the only state for which the Bush administration has waived the rule that 50 percent of its Community Development Block Grants be spent on low-income programs, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which administers the program. It is also the only state to ask for such waivers. [Emphasis added]
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (former head of the Republic National Committee)justifies the disparate distribution by suggesting that getting people back to jobs is more important than fixing homes, but his argument is (not surprisingly) specious:
...the state plans to spend $600 million of the federal money to repair and improve its shipping port.
Though the expansion will increase employment here, historically very few port jobs have gone to low-income residents.
Some critics contend that the main interest of state leaders in spending community development dollars is to help big businesses like shipbuilders and casinos and the port.
And that's just fine with the current administration which apparently has taken Jesus' statement that "The poor you will always have with you" as a blueprint for governance.
Labels: Katrina
posted by Diane at 4:02 AM
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