The politics of hurricanes and other disasters (1 Viewer)

[superchuck500]

There’s a lot of discussion of this in various threads but I think it needs its own. In the aftermath of Helene, we have Milton bearing down on the Tampa area. It looks like it’s gonna be bad. The FEMA Director has already said that additional funds are needed – but speaker Johnson has indicated that he does not wish to reconvene the house in order to approve additional disaster funding.

There have been 152 declared disaster areas in 2024 – I looked it up. They come in the form of fires, floods, blizzards, and ice, storms, earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes. There is no set number of assistance funds needed in any given year, and anyone who suggest that “FEMA spent all the money” is being ignorant or worse.

Milton is going to be bad. This is going to be a big issue in the near term. And it counties to shock me that MAGA in Congress won’t vote for disaster funds - including people like Senator Rick Scott of Florida and Congresswoman Nancy Mace of coastal South Carolina. How on earth do they get re-elected?

And I just want to also say that I HATE the online ignorance about this stuff. Like people using a flight tracker of a NOAA hurricane hunter flight as evidence of storm seeding. It’s just so stupid.

Mike Johnson won't commit to bringing House back before the election for more hurricane relief

In a letter to congressional leaders, Biden urged Congress to restore funding to the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program as it faces potential funding shortfalls.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[superchuck500]

Not that im aware of.

FEMA funding comes solely from Congress ( legislative ) . And in keeping with "checks and balances" i dont think the President ( executive ) has the authority to "fund" much of anything. He can AUTHORIZE funding, which is then up to Congress to agree to amounts etc.

But i think that is about all he can do. He doesnt control the purse strings- for obvious reasons.

Yeah, the president can't simply order additional funds to FEMA without Congress (per the appropriations power). But it is possible for the White House to move funds from one account to another as long as there is sufficient legal authority for the repurposed funds to be used in the new capacity. This might be possible for Biden.

 

[efil4]

Yeah, the president can't simply order additional funds to FEMA without Congress (per the appropriations power). But it is possible for the White House to move funds from one account to another as long as there is sufficient legal authority for the repurposed funds to be used in the new capacity. This might be possible for Biden.

I hope he finds the authority and pulls it off AND announces on live TV that he has done so since the Republican Speaker of the House refuses to reconvene Congress to appropriate more funding to FEMA.

 

[MT15]

Not political but worth posting. This storm is terrifying.

 

[Eeyore]

Doesn't the President have a sharpie? He can just redraw the path to make it avoid Florida.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Doesn't the President have a sharpie? He can just redraw the path to make it avoid Florida.

wait should he not just drop a nuke on it??

 

[Bigdaddysaints]

wait should he not just drop a nuke on it??

Cat 5 doesn't exist, I've never heard of it..

 

[fooferdoggie]

Cat 5 doesn't exist, I've never heard of it..

cause it blew trumps brains out.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Doesn't the President have a sharpie? He can just redraw the path to make it avoid Florida.

Someone needs to post this on Twitter...

 

[superchuck500]

Trump’s Hurricane Conspiracies Prove He Only Cares About Himself

Donald Trump started his hurricane disinformation campaign to hurt Kamala Harris. Instead, his supporters are struggling.

newrepublic.com

 

[fooferdoggie]

Trump’s Hurricane Conspiracies Prove He Only Cares About Himself

Donald Trump started his hurricane disinformation campaign to hurt Kamala Harris. Instead, his supporters are struggling.

newrepublic.com

like we needed that as proof.

 

[Bigdaddysaints]

Musk going aroung telling media that he's giving free starlink to Helene victims, which sounds good at the surface, but of course there is a catch.
You have to purchase the hardware, $400. I am pretty sure FedEx and UPS aren't exatly making routine deliveries in a lot of those areas...smh...
I am sure he conviently leaves that part out...

tech publication the Register reported Tuesday that Starlink's offer of free satellite-powered internet service to areas impacted by Helene has a hefty price tag. While the normal residential subscription of $120/month has been waived for the first 30 days of service, anyone in the affected area hoping to use Starlink to get online and connect with resources will still have to pay for the hardware to actually set up an internet connection. When taking into account the cost of shipping along with taxes, hurricane victims can expect to pay roughly $400.

The site posted a YouTube video showing what the Starlink sign-up page looks like for residents in the areas Musk singled out for "free" internet service. While there is a second "Helene relief" subscription option for $0 next to the $120/month "Residential" subscription, the final total comes out to $393.91 when factoring in the $349 hardware, the $20 shipping and handling fee and a tax of $24.91.

MSN

 

[zztop]

And not to mention the electricity required to power starlink. Or maybe a lot of people in FL have personal generators?

 

[bird]

Re: political economy of disasters

Rebuilding increases GDP which simply shows how flocking stupid GDP is.

 

[bird]

Trump’s Hurricane Conspiracies Prove He Only Cares About Himself

Donald Trump started his hurricane disinformation campaign to hurt Kamala Harris. Instead, his supporters are struggling.

newrepublic.com

So, this begs the question…why the flock do they continue to support a creature who has no actual use for them beyond their vote. The cognitive dissonance is strong with MAGA.

 

[superchuck500]

A reminder of what Trump was like during hurricanes

 

[coldseat]

A reminder of what Trump was like during hurricanes

Yep, there's no doubt he's never heard of a Cat 5 hurricane. Not even when he was president.

 

[Bigdaddysaints]

A reminder of what Trump was like during hurricanes

he didn't say that, and if he did say that, he didn't mean that, and if he did mean that, you didn't undertstand it, and if you did, its not a big deal, and if it is, others have said worse...

 

[bird]

he didn't say that, and if he did say that, he didn't mean that, and if he did mean that, you didn't undertstand it, and if you did, its not a big deal, and if it is, others have said worse...

That sums up the liar.