When is Enough... Enough?

Yesterday I read in the Houston Chronicle that housing assistance for Katrina Evacuees had been extended six more months. I thought that was ridiculous, but par for the course in our hand out welfare state type society. Well, it appears that almost two years of free rent and other assistance is just not quite enough for some of these people, they need more:

Katrina evacuees say they need more than extension

By MIKE SNYDER

A six-month extension of emergency housing assistance will stave off an immediate catastrophe but will not solve the underlying problems preventing hurricane victims from rebuilding their lives, evacuees and their advocates said Monday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency confirmed that assistance would continue through Aug. 31 for about 128,000 households living in trailers, mobile homes or apartments, including about 14,000 in the Houston area. The assistance was scheduled to expire in February for victims of Hurricane Katrina and in March for those displaced by Hurricane Rita, which hit a month later...

...About 25 evacuees gathered Monday at a Stafford apartment development for senior citizens to thank FEMA for the extension while arguing that they need an additional 18 months rather than just six months.

Another 18 months? NO! Not only no, but Hell No!

I did not realize that the issue was as massive as this, 128,000 households still living off of the FEMA teat. It is high time to start weaning people off this program. In the aftermath of Katrina, Americans donated millions upon millions of dollars to support the refugees. These folks were settled into apartments or trailers or other housing with all new furniture, clothing, bedding, household supplies and pretty much anything else needed to make a new start. They then received the infamous FEMA cards and free rent. They had suffered a tragedy, yes, but everything was in place to help them quickly recover. Since housing was already paid for, all they had to do was find a job - any job, and start saving money. They have had well over a year to find a job and start taking some responsibility for themselves. Many did just that, but the folks that are left on the dole will not do for themselves so long as they do not have to. It is well past time to cut off the FEMA support to these folks. If they are unable to do for themselves, they can apply to welfare. If they can not "find" a job, then they need to look a little harder, maybe even move to where the jobs are. I understand some packing plants have a few openings.

I have been flat out broke, losing everything I had. What did I do? Sucked it up, moved from California to Colorado, worked temporary jobs first, then worked in a packing plant, then found a better job and so on until I have fully recovered.

People lose their homes every day due to one kind of tragedy or another. It is not the .gov's responsibility to support them for years after a tragedy like that.

If you have never read the following essay from "The Life Of Colonel David Crockett", you should do so. It may help you to reconsider the federal governments role in regards to charity and welfare.