$700 million in Katrina money handed out to homeowners goes missing

$700 million in Katrina money handed out to homeowners goes missing


(NaturalNews) Reports are now in that $700 million taxpayer dollars have
gone missing in Louisiana. The money, given to homeowners in the wake
of Hurricane Katrina, totaled one billion dollars. Seventy percent of
that money has vanished. The new report, released from the inspector
general's office, claims that over 24,000 homeowners each pocketed
$30,000 of taxpayer bailout money. The money was given out in hopes that
homeowners would elevate their homes to prevent future catastrophes.


$700 million may only be part of the fraud

The
Louisiana Road Home program allocated $1 billion to this specific
relief effort, which was designed to prevent future damage to homes.
This program was only one part of a federal government relief package
that totaled $29 billion. With that much money being redistributed, more
investigation may need to occur. What percent of the other $28 billion
has gone to waste?

Indeed, cases of government fraud are piling
up from the Gulf Coast region. Federal prosecutors are now pursuing
several criminal charges in New Orleans. Once case includes a woman who
lied about fixing up her home. She plead guilty to making false
statements about how she squandered her cut of government grant money.

A culture expecting government bailouts squanders the value of hard earned taxpayer money

This
brings up the question: is handing out money the best way to fix
communities torn up in the wake of natural disasters? Are populations of
people beginning to expect and even demand federal government bailouts
as normal protocol? This norm has been set and the value of the money
handed out is easily degraded, destroyed, and squandered by those who
don't know how to handle money.

What happened to old fashioned
communities banding together in honesty and charity, resurrecting their
livelihood without expecting government cash? Why isn't good money
handling rewarded and why is irresponsibility enabled?

Are there
better ways to reassemble communities and people's lives without taking
tax money from one person and giving it away to someone who squanders it
elsewhere? Natural disaster bailouts seem to be endorsing thievery and
fraud. What lessons can be learned from the loss of $700 million?

As
Congress moves to respond to more recent natural disasters like
Hurricane Sandy, lessons can be learned. HUD's Montoyo points out,
"Clearly, to give money out on the front end right after a disaster,
when many of these people lost everything, with a promise to do
something down the road, I think is counterproductive to what the
program was designed to do."

Montoya says his office will
recommend that, for future disaster relief programs, funds are disbursed
to individuals only after the project has been completed and inspected
by state officials.

Government agencies, designed for good
causes, should move in a manner that is productive and not wasteful. For
these departments and programs to exist, a special responsibility
should be undertaken to ensure that taxpayer money is rewarded to solid,
completed, intentional projects. Taxpayer money shouldn't be handed out
like parade candy and then consumed like cavity feed.

Louisiana's investigation and push for compliance

Through
the failure of this bailout program, the state of Louisiana recognizes
that they now must become a police force of sorts, as they venture out,
investigate, and track down those who have used the funds for unintended
purposes. The state is currently working overtime to recover the money,
pushing homeowners to restore their houses. After a year of
investigation, the state has thankfully found an honest 5,000 or more
people who have fixed their homes. The state is now "Working
aggressively with HUD to get the remaining 19,000 homeowners in
compliance."

These statements sound strong, but how realistically
can they enforce their investigation? Seven-hundred million missing
dollars won't be easy to locate. Prosecuting 19,000 homeowners for fraud
is a difficult thing to do. Is this the government the United States is
asking for? The government is nothing more than a reflection of the
people. Where has responsibility gone in the United States?

Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/039842_Hurricane_Katrina_FEMA_money_government_waste.html