Too Petty To Care

 In an appalling F-U to many Katrina flood victims, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is asking for their money back – from individuals, no less. The money they gave to thousands who were left without homes, treated like cattle herded-off to slaughter during the post-flooding debacle while Brownie was doing a “heck of a job” are receiving a form of collection agency harassment in the mail.

Many of the recipients of FEMA aid received checks in the range of $1,200 – $5,000. Not exactly what could be considered a huge government hand-out to begin a new life without a stable home, clothes, or enough to replace a lifetime worth of memories and the cost of basic household possessions.

FEMA declares that in the course of investigations, fraudulent claims were paid, therefore, GIVE IT BACK! All right, that part of the reasoning for the financial squeeze is legally sound. There is one little problem with their tactics: many of those who are now being hit-up for repayment were genuine victims, not cons. FEMA reportedly will further review those who may be legit, but only AFTER they see that crisp check in the mail with signatures blurred by tears.

Learning of what FEMA is trying to do irks the hell out of me when the U.S. sends financial aid every other minute to countries when disaster wipes out a town/village without ever asking for full accountability regarding whether or not the funds and supplies actually landed in the lands of those in need. Half of the time, we learn that most of the money bought government officials a new home while their people continued to die of disease and other unfortunate side-effects of natural disasters. Does the U.S. ever ask for those corrupt individuals to send the money back?

Of course there is a difference between FEMA’s responsibilities and the larger U.S. pocketbook set aside for global Rx. FEMA was created to handle American disasters, not Japan’s or Haiti, for example. And although Joplin, Missouri, is receiving FEMA support to assist the clean-up of that entire town’s demise, there are those in Congress who want to play blackmail on additional government funding to help “our own” if certain sacrifices in the budget aren’t met. Yet another U.S. government F-U to victims.

If the USA is so desperate to pad a waning bank account through thug-mugging a few crafty cons as well as true victims of a partially man-made disaster of six years ago, I ask, as have many Americans, why are Wall Street CEO’s and their minions not trickling-down their monumental financial gains to those who are not cons, not unemployed, not credit risks, not complete dicks like many of the greedy seeds of America’s shameful financial deeds?

One answer is to watch Too Big To Fail if you subscribe to HBO or have a friend who does. The wonderfully crafted (and perfectly cast) film documents the frightening fragile ledge of the financial institutions upon which the U.S. and the general global banking institutions teeter when the first domino of fiscal irresponsibility begins to fall.

Nope. There is no way anyone in Washington DC will touch those behemoth’s that have everyone by the balls.