National Disaster Relief

Trudy on WRIF's Drew and Mike was just commenting about the national disaster relief fund that's nearly bankrupt and asked what money would be available for people in the wake of a disaster if they need money to make repairs.

If people "need money to make repairs" in light of a natural disaster then they need to buy insurance. I am sick of these idiots who live in areas they cannot afford to live in, make up the difference by not purchasing insurance, and then expect the taxpayers to bail them out. The people in New Orleans choose not to buy flood insurance; it is not the responsibility of the taxpayer to make up for their stupidity. The people in southern California live right on a fault line. If they choose not to buy earthquake insurance, the taxpayer should not be responsible for covering their costs. If people want to live in these ridiculously dangerous areas then they need to either pay for insurance premiums or realize that when the inevitable natural disaster comes they will be on their own.

The moral of this story - if you live in a flood zone, buy flood insurance. If you live in an earthquake zone, buy earthquake insurance. If you live in a high-wind zone, buy windstorm insurance. If you cannot afford the insurance, don't live there. The cost of insurance is a part of the economic system that discourages stupid behavior. If society continues to bail people out or subsidizes their insurance when they build a mansion on a fault line or a house in a high flood zone, then we only encourage loss of life and property damage. If the cost of living there, including the cost of insurance, is high then these people won't live there and will move somewhere they can afford, thus saving lives and property.