Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: Hurricane Housing: FEMAVille Special Edition

Brownie, take a lesson from Harriet Miers and get the hell out of Dodge before the lynch mob decides to make the decision for you.

To give you an idea of how Brown's monumental incompetence continues to resonate through the Katrina cleanup, it seems that mobile home owners are being evicted to make room for higher-paying FEMA trailers. Displacing some families to help other displaced families? That's just sick. And remember, those FEMA trailers cost taxpayers more because Bush refused to go through the HUD program. :) Again, there are vacant apartments and affordable housing units all over the country, and we're paying for these trailers....why, exactly?

Here's some more fun with FEMA, specifically their checking out the flood damage in Massachusetts. I wonder how long it'll take them to declare it a disaster area, if ever. And speaking of disasters, Gov. Jeb Bush does his brother a solid by taking the hit for FEMA's failure to respond properly to Wilma. Stop me if any of these quotes sound familiar to you:

We did not perform to where we want to be," the governor said at a news conference Wednesday in Tallahassee, adding that criticism of the federal response was misdirected. "This is our responsibility."

"This is like the Third World," said Claudia Shaw, who spent several hours in a gas line. "We live in a state where we suffer from these storms every year. Where is the planning?"

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who oversees FEMA, asked victims to have patience as he surveyed crumpled boats, shattered mobile homes and snaking lines of cars at fuel stations along the storm's path.

There are only two things certain in life....death, and FEMA not getting the job done. You can always find ways to evade taxes. :)

The House has passed legislation that will, if made into law, tighten the purse strings at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Although the big measure of opposition to the bill is coming from its provision banning nonprofit groups from engaging in voter advocacy, the idea of Fannie and Freddie unloading their portfolios onto the market would definitely send speculators, investors, and buyers heads all a-spinnin'. I think the idea is to try and privatize some of their portfolios in the hopes that greedy developers will snap them up and keep the boom going.

On the other hand, the accounting scandals at Fannie and Freddie both indicate they're unable and unwilling to keep their own houses in order. When you're carrying that much debt, regulation should be mandatory at every step.

I found some interesting takes on the usage of eminent domain by states or local authorities to increase revenue. For example, D.C. seized property to make way for their new baseball stadium, displacing a good number of local businesses, "adult" and otherwise. As a D.C. resident, I know that the heart of our club scene is right where the bulldozers will be digging, thus driving a stake in the heart of the District's already weak nightlife. Many of the property owners have made out like bandits, but some, it seems, value their homes and their livelihoods more than a cash-out.

To give you an idea of how high-stakes the property industry is in areas like D.C., a building near the Capitol recently sold for 80 million. Ironically, the building houses the FDIC, who is currently asking bankers to to take it easy on borrowers affected by Hurricane Wilma.

I wonder if the building in Arlington the FDIC is moving to is on the list of military offices scheduled to be vacated as part of the military's Base Realignment And Closure effort. Donald Rumsfeld had said a few months ago that many Pentagon-supporting offices would move out of the Northern Virginia area because of "security concerns."

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You can all step off the ledges and take the nooses off the ceiling fans, because I'm back, and ready to rumble. It seems that I'm not the only one who's back in town, as Mike Brown's contract has been extended yet again. Brownie, take a lesson from Harriet Miers and get the hell out of Dodge before the lynch mob decides to make the decision for you. To give you an idea of how Brown's monumental incompetence continues to resonate through the Katrina cleanup, it seems that mobile home owners are being evicted to make room for higher-paying FEMA trailers. Displacing some families to help other displaced families? That's just sick. And remember, those FEMA trailers cost taxpayers more because Bush refused to go through the HUD program. :) Again, there are vacant apartments and affordable housing units all over the country, and we're paying for these trailers....why, exactly? Here's some more fun with FEMA, specifically their checking out the flood damage in Massachusetts. I wonder how long it'll take them to declare it a disaster area, if ever. And speaking of disasters, Gov. Jeb Bush does his brother a solid by taking the hit for FEMA's failure to respond properly to Wilma. Stop me if any of these quotes sound familiar to you: We did not perform to where we want to be," the governor said at a news conference Wednesday in Tallahassee, adding that criticism of the federal response was misdirected. "This is our responsibility." "This is like the Third World," said Claudia Shaw, who spent several hours in a gas line. "We live in a state where we suffer from these storms every year. Where is the planning?" Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who oversees FEMA, asked victims to have patience as he surveyed crumpled boats, shattered mobile homes and snaking lines of cars at fuel stations along the storm's path. There are only two things certain in life....death, and FEMA not getting the job done. You can always find ways to evade taxes. :) The House has passed legislation that will, if made into law, tighten the purse strings at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Although the big measure of opposition to the bill is coming from its provision banning nonprofit groups from engaging in voter advocacy, the idea of Fannie and Freddie unloading their portfolios onto the market would definitely send speculators, investors, and buyers heads all a-spinnin'. I think the idea is to try and privatize some of their portfolios in the hopes that greedy developers will snap them up and keep the boom going. On the other hand, the accounting scandals at Fannie and Freddie both indicate they're unable and unwilling to keep their own houses in order. When you're carrying that much debt, regulation should be mandatory at every step. I found some interesting takes on the usage of eminent domain by states or local authorities to increase revenue. For example, D.C. seized property to make way for their new baseball stadium, displacing a good number of local businesses, "adult" and otherwise. As a D.C. resident, I know that the heart of our club scene is right where the bulldozers will be digging, thus driving a stake in the heart of the District's already weak nightlife. Many of the property owners have made out like bandits, but some, it seems, value their homes and their livelihoods more than a cash-out. And then again, some do not. To give you an idea of how high-stakes the property industry is in areas like D.C., a building near the Capitol recently sold for 80 million. Ironically, the building houses the FDIC, who is currently asking bankers to to take it easy on borrowers affected by Hurricane Wilma. I wonder if the building in Arlington the FDIC is moving to is on the list of military offices scheduled to be vacated as part of the military's Base Realignment And Closure effort. Donald Rumsfeld had said a few months ago that many Pentagon-supporting offices would move out of the Northern Virginia area because of "security concerns." There's an irony in here somewhere.