The Inspector General’s office of the Homeland Security Department and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have released reports of millions of dollars of wasted money in aiding Katrina victims.
While thousands upon thousands of victims are currently still displaced from this storm which is promising to have far reaching effects into our nation’s future FEMA has once again come under the scrutinous eye of the public microscope.
It is easy to blame the agency for its gross incompetence and almost boldfaced corruption, but what may be the case now is widespread corruption of applicants for emergency aid. The $2,000 debit cards are apparently a hot item. What is intended to help families buy food and other necessary items such as clothing are being applied for by persons with fake SSNs and identification cards.
I don’t blame FEMA for giving out these cards in the heat of the moment when their aim is to help people, fraud on the part of applicants is going to happen, and FEMA is taking the correct response by prosecuting freeloaders.
The agency isn’t completely without blame though. Being a Floridian, I am familiar with the corruption of FEMA. When Wilma ripped through Palm Beach and Broward counties, it was the people of Miami who benefited the most from emergency relief. While my neighbors and classmates in northern Broward and southern Palm Beach were tarping their roofs, people in Miami were getting millions to replace their cars and remodel their homes. Its time for FEMA to shape up or ship out.
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