Tag: Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012

In other news, South Mississippi’s fluffer Congressman comes out of hiding

And folks he takes credit for fixing the disaster he created in Biggert Waters. The jackassery simply does not get any better IMHO:

Palazzo touts accomplishments, fight for flood insurance, against Obamacare~ Paul Hampton

Moving right along I smell “Big Dawg” and from the smell of ’em I think he has been cavorting with skunks:

Political play could block Zurich Classic from moving to new City Park golf course ~ Jeff Duncan

Nothing against Dunc as he is a decent enough sports writer but this story should have gone to someone else at NOLA. Just sayin’. Speaking of crack, seasoned journalists:

New details emerge in Jaren Lockhart’s murder and dismemberment case ~ Paul Purpura

I’m personally very leery of jailhouse confessions. Now from the bad days just got worse for Ray Ray the former Chocolatier:

Federal judge orders Ray Nagin to forfeit $501,201 ~ Gordon Russell

Finally, speaking of Gordon:

Reporters, FBI agents to face questions Wednesday at Telly Hankton hearing ~ Manuel Torres

Thursday Links: The Walkers cave as the jailbreak begins

You gotta figure Mr. Ziegler and Ms. Shumate can’t be far behind. As for me I think I need a bit more coffee.  😉

Bill and Scott Walker ready to plead guilty to felonies ~ Anita Lee

From the it must be nice to know Fugate files…… (h/t Sun Herald)

Why Taxpayers Will Bail Out the Rich When the Next Storm Hits ~ Bill Dedman

Meet the Flood Insurance ‘Robin Hood’ Who Saves Condo Owners Millions ~ Bill Dedman

So there you have it folks, people with side condos on the beach get the NFIP’s best rates while homeowners in Bay St Louis get stuck with their bill. Worth noting is Congressman Steven Palazzo voted for Biggert-Waters Act, an act that will likely bankrupt substantial numbers of his own constituents. Heckuva job Palazzi!

3 Doors Down’s Todd Harrell needs an intervention ~ Sun Herald Editorial Board

Cochran’s not the only one who doesn’t know McDaniel ~ Paul Hampton

Finally a two pack from the Advocate:

Jefferson hospital consultant to review only proposals to run both facilities ~ Jeff Adelson

Man charged with running ‘child exploitation’ ring ~ Jim Mustain

Tuesday Twofer: Ask not what Good Government Citizen groups can do for you……..

Ask what you can do for Good Government Citizen Groups.

FEMA is out of touch ~ Tommy Elkins

StopFemaNow is a group of concerned citizens, who have not only been effected by Super Storm Sandy, but who have been impacted on varying levels by the implications of the new FEMA flood maps. The decision to adopt these maps is premature and requires additional consideration. We want to, quite simply, Stop Fema Now!

Our goal is to create community awareness as the adoption of these maps will heavily impact many communities across this country. These maps will tear many from their homes, force many to make harsh decisions about their futures with no real place to turn and ultimately change our lives. The financial implications alone are frightening!

We are faced with many unanswered questions and very little direction. StopFemaNow intends to provide a fact based argument as to how and why we can rebuild stronger and more resilient with a more “realistic” approach. Together we will prevail!

Reality begins to set in……

Few support delaying changes in Flood Insurance ~ Andrew Taylor

Meantime at the local business community meeting on this topic a couple of days ago here in Bay Waveland, Steven Palazzo sent a staffer in his stead as he is evidently afraid to publicly engage his vote to bankrupt substantial numbers of his own constituents “reforming” the corporate welfare program otherwise known as the Flood Insurance Program.

Get on the wire to every squadron around the world………

Attention politicians that did not read the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 before voting for it.

Federal flood insurance reform demands a renaissance of reason ~ Steve and Peggy Nicosia

Here is what you don’t hear in the mainstream media outlets like the New York Times:

(3) 40 percent of premium dollars going to the NFIP and private insurance companies for program administration, (4) adjusters who wrongly attribute wind damage to the flood program, and (5) 40 percent of federally backed mortgages required to carry insurance do not carry it — have led to premium increases of up to 3,000 percent and much more. Policies now costing $500 can increase to more than $20,000 when rates are fully phased in because structures are deemed out of compliance by Biggert-Waters.

True NFIP reform means clearing the rats off the money, not bankrupting your own people so insurance companies based in Illinois can make a fortune. And that’s the bottom line……..

ICYMI: NFIP, Mississippi Gaming and the Byrd is the Word

The AP’s Jeff Amy tackled the subject of Mississippi’s declining gaming industry Saturday in a must read story. In a prior life Jeff was a business reporter and that prior experience shows in the piece he wrote. The worst of the problems are at the north Mississippi Delta casinos but also extend to the Coast to a lesser degree.

Next up is the impacts of rising flood insurance premiums on the real estate market in Florida, the Northeast and Louisiana:

Cost of Flood Insurance Rises, Along With Worries ~ Lizette Alverez and Campbell Robertson

It would be nice to see one of the mainstream media outlets covered the inherent conflicts of interest built into the flood program and the fact that the middlemen WYO insurers take a 30% slice off the top for writing the policies. Yeah, those facts add a degree of complexity to the topic but they are vital to understanding what is truly going on with the program as this is not entirely about the program underpricing risk. Unfortunately the story above, like most of them gloss over those facts, in the case of the New York Times likely in deference to their insurance advertisers.

Finally we have Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd back in the news cycle:

Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd due back in court today for continuation of bond revocation hearing ~ April Havens

Joe Sam Owen is one of the best criminal defense lawyers on the coast. It will be interesting to see how the opening round of the Jackson County political fist fight in Byrd prosecution turns out.

From the Gasbags on Parade (GOP) files……….

STEAMROLLED: Flood insurance changes already hurting Hancock ~ Dwayne Bremer

I’ll note for the record that when Congressman Palazzo’s opinion mattered most, i.e. when he voted on Biggert-Waters he voted to impose those NFIP rate increases on his own people, which will keep the folks at the US Bankruptcy Court busy for years to come.

SUN HERALD | Editorial: Veterans shame Congress for shutdown ~ Sun Herald Editorial Board Continue reading “From the Gasbags on Parade (GOP) files……….”

Jimbo the clown joins Mike Chaney on the Biggert-Waters NFIP disaster front. Now we’re all truly screwed.

Biggert-Waters premium increases threaten Louisiana’s working coast, insurance commissioner says ~ Lauren McGaughy

What can I add when the post title says it all? Absolutely nothing.

Slabbed: South Louisiana’s News Leader………;-)

Conjure up Mary Landrieu on Slabbed and Shazam!

A Senate subcommittee vote is indeed a baby step but worthy of a Clancy commentary? Hmmmmm.

Meantime over on Fox 8 Rob Masson spun an interesting fable predicated on the falsehood that Jim Letten was somehow responsible for prosecuting publicity hound James O’Keefe when in fact Letten recused himself from the O’Keefe prosecution per this John Simmerman story for the Advocate that I personally consider authoritative on the subject. The reason I term O’Keefe a publicity hound is the faux framing of his confrontation with the Lettens as parroted by the TeeVee news which seemingly thrives on spinning such conflict driven fable.

That said, like Jeffrey I would love to see the video of Big Jim getting it on with O’Keefe despite my overall opinion that O’Keefe is acting the part of douchebag here.

Biggert-Waters NFIP Disaster Update: Our politicians thus far unable to reverse the damage from their earlier votes….

So far the two state senatorial delegation of Mary Landrieu, David Vitter, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker are striking out on delaying the massive NFIP rate increases coming down the pike. Per this Bruce Alpert piece, Senator Landrieu is now seeking a one year delay in the massive rate hikes coming for those that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. A few days later, Alpert covered a letter the area’s congressional delegation sent to FEMA asking for administrative relief.

The troubled Flood Insurance program is billions of dollars in debt and the Biggert-Waters Act, designed as it was by the Insurance Industry for the sole benefit of the insurance industry guarantees that the billions of dollars in wind claims private insurers such as State Farm dumped on the NFIP after Hurricane Katrina will be repaid by the NFIP ratepayers instead of the large companies that socialized their contractual obligations under their insurance policies that dumped them on the US Treasury. Unfortunately the people of this area were sold out to the insurance industry by our own politicians, who now claim ignorance of the impacts of the bill upon which they voted Aye.

In related news Alpert checked in yesterday with a report on the FEMA pilot program on adjusting flood maps to give credit for locally built, non-accredited levees.  This seems a risky proposition to me due to the fact ongoing maintenance of these systems has been historically neglected plus filling in marshlands for development is bad for the environment. What this area needs is smarter development that does not impact or alter the floodplain, not more levees.