Equal Protection

A few people have noticed that the Federal response to California has been a little more emphatic than the Federal -- or even state or local -- response to North Carolina's suffering. Asheville is collecting property taxes on places that were destroyed at their pre-destruction valuation, 'because the law requires it.' Well, so much the worse for the law. 

FEMA got in touch with me this week to tell me that they were cutting off my housing assistance, which I never applied for and never received. They didn't get in touch with me to deal with any actual assistance; I've still never seen a FEMA employee, not even though I spent weeks doing rescue operations during the hurricane.

I'm not mad about it, though. We're better off without the government. I'll be happy to see the back of it. I feel bad for those people who've put their hopes in it to help them, protect them, or make their lives in any way better. Things are going to get better here, a little bit at a time. California isn't going to get any better because they remain enthralled by the idea that these evils are goods. 

2 comments:

E Hines said...

Standby for the dun from FEMA to repay that housing assistance. You shouldn't have gotten it since you didn't apply for it.

The fact that you also never got it is neither here nor there.

Eric Hines

Elise said...

I would like to see the incoming Administration set a policy that whatever California/Los Angeles gets, North Carolina gets (and possibly Georgia and maybe even Maui). I understand the argument that y'all are better off without government "help" but if my tax dollars are going to Los Angeles they should also be going to other areas that have been hard-hit. Everybody or nobody. The tricky part is going to be getting the money to the people who have suffered loss rather than to the local and State governments and/or the NGOs.