Katrina Victims to Get $2K Debit Cards

[Brightmore]

Katrina Victims to Get $2K Debit Cards
Associated Press
DEVLIN BARRETT
September 7, 2005

The federal government plans to dole out debit cards worth $2,000 each to victims of Hurricane Katrina, The Associated Press has learned.

The unprecedented cash card program initially will benefit stranded people who have been moved to rescue centers such as the Houston Astrodome. The program was outlined by Homeland Security Department officials in a conference call with state leaders Wednesday morning, according to a governor and another state official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the program had not been publicly announced.

The cards would be used to buy food, transportation, gas, and other things the displaced people need, Homeland Security officials told state leaders, according to an official who participated in the call and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/07/D8CFGVDG0.html

[bluestateguy]

1. It should be $20,000

But it's a small positive step in the right direction.

The hysterical "hate welfare" crowd would go into a conniption if it were anything more, and even $2000 is probably too much for them anyway.

[marshall]

70. Just the beginning

Hopefully this is just the beginning, something to get people a jump start.

[KittyWampus]

2. now if only they could get a couple of acres and a mule....

[SmokingJacket]

3. I think that's great; but cards should also have been distributed

before the hurricane to people in the affected area to get them OUT.

Because as it happened, those without cash -- and all they needed was a couple hundred -- did NOT get out. And they are now dead.

[NYC]

56. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Yes, the cards could have been distributed before the hurricane to enable evacuation. I saw a man sitting with his mother say that they calculated the costs (auto rental, motel, etc.) as $1,000. They just didn't have it.

[NYC]

57. How does a debit card work? Do banks collect fees?

When a credit card is used, the merchant receives a discounted price, the missing % going to the credit card company.

Does this happen for debit cards as well? Are the banks earning fees with the use of these debit cards?

[Carni]

61. YES IT DOES

Same deal the merchant gets charged a percentage

[NYC]

66. So the banking industry profits from this maneuver.

I guess I just knew it.

[Carni]

67. Yes, and additionally it takes 48 hours

For that money to show up in the merchant's account--so there is yet MORE money the banks make off of the interest for two days.

[NYC]

68. Thanks.

Nothing like profiting off disaster.

[glugglug]

71. This works out cheaper

Dead people don't need cash cards. :evilgrin:

[bee]

4. uh huh...

Big brothers gotta know what theyre buying. hmmmm

[Duer 157099]

8. oh yeah

they'll probably get bills in the future for anything they purchased with that money that wasn't "appropriate"

[ktowntennesseedem]

53. Or they'll have to report it on next year's income tax. -nt

[americanstranger]

5. I smell something bad happening.

First they truck residents of NOLA all over the country. Then they 'give' them 2K walking-around money.

What do you want to bet that there's fine print involved - that says accepting the money absolves the fed government from any responsibility to move them back to their homes?

I'm tellin' ya - this isn't evacuation they're doing. This is displacement, re-location, whatever you want to call it.

They're sending the fine people of NOLA away, and they don't want them to come back.

-as

[bluestateguy]

11. Will they have to report that to the IRS

I think these people should be exempted from taxes for the next 10 years.

[Peace Patriot]

21. You got it, americanstranger! My guess...

...a high security enclave for the rich, near oil reserves, comprised of the whole city of New Orleans and possibly more; the property of displaced poor and middle class will be confiscated; and Cheney is in it up to his eyeballs. You think he was really "gone fishing" in Wyoming through all this? Nope. In the bunker pouring over real estate maps. I think he's the one who wanted martial law, and told Bush to get it for him or else (or else he would rat on him in Treasongate? --a good surmise), and that's why humanitarian aid was obstructed and withheld for five days, while thousands of people suffered and died, and a big chunk of the United States was wiped out. Bush was strongarming Blanco for martial law, with the suffering and deaths of her people as the extortion card. She didn't yield, but may have had to compromise, and agree to the evacuation of NO--to keep out the stormtroopers and retain some authority, and to get aid flowing.

I think this is about as dirty a game as the Bushites have ever played--and that's saying something.

The people of New Orleans are just "boat people" now. Pariahs. The unwanted. The homeless. The displaced. The forever-poor. The reminders of our shame and our seeming powerlessness over these thugs. To be shunted like cattle here and there, dumped on other states, and never to see New Orleans again.

[bassman79]

49. Good Theory. Highly probable IMO

[TexasBushwhacker]

54. Me too

I'm betting the fine print absolves local, state and federal government from any liability for damages, wrongful death, etc.

[NYC]

58. If there is fine print,

I'll bet it wasn't explained to them.

[CabalPowered]

6. Too bad you can't use a debit card for a deposit on a rental

I also remember reading yesterday on DU that in other hurricanes, the gov't handed out 5k in grants to individuals.

[Wcross]

32. You can use it for a deposit.

If its a true debit card they should work in an ATM machine.

[CabalPowered]

41. The last place I rented at wouldn't take my cash..

I had to get a cashier's check. I don't know how common that is but I just ran into that..

[Zhade]

45. They won't take mine, either. It's not too uncommon.

A lot of places don't like tenants knowing they have a large amount of cash at a specific time every month - they'd prefer not to be robbed.

So says the person I rent from, and it seems to make sense.

[CabalPowered]

47. I've heard they do this b/c of drug dealers.

Basically they want the paper trail in case a drug bust goes down.

[UpInArms]

51. lots of property management companies

have that policy - it's too easy for manager to embezzle if there's cash around - jiggle the rent rolls, money goes away.

[Wcross]

62. If you have cash you can get a cashiers check.

Give me 2000 on an atm card and I can secure a rental unit. I wouldn't do it myself though, that money is for the basics such as a change of underware and basic provisions.

[coffeenap]

7. What if it is lost or stolen? Replacement? Limits? Who gets one?

One per family? Per adult? Per person? How do you prove you "deserve" one? Sorry to be skeptical.

[stellanoir]

9. Not a bad idea for a start but it won't go far.

Dollars to doughnuts they'll have to sign a waiver promising not to sue the federal government for violations of survivors' civil liberties through the government's litany of inhumane blunders.

[trogdor]

15. You're probably right on that one.

I think it's a way to facilitate the diaspora of NOLA's poorer, blacker residents, perhaps to the extent that the GOP can turn the area red. What would you do if you were po' and Uncle Sam just gave you two thousand dollars in cash? That's the first and last month's rent somewhere else, and a bus ticket to get you there.

I bet you a bunch of these people will simply vanish before New Orleans is made rehabitable.

[Duer 157099]

10. Isn't it interesting

how they not only want to, but have made it possible, to monitor every last cent they give these people...

...and yet $9 billion is still missing in Iraq?

Why weren't they giving debit cards to Halliburton, or the other agencies in Iraq?

[LostinVA]

12. $2,000 is nothing

First month's rent, deposit, and utility deposits and that's gone. In some areas of the country, it won't even go that far. *sigh*

[NYC]

59. In NYC, landlords get a FULL credit report.

They have always required proof of steady employment. That means you did not just start the job.

[glugglug]

75. not actually true...

landlords charge you for a full credit report.
It isn't usually actually run. One of my credit cards sends me a credit report every quarter. An inquiry like that run by the landlord would show.

[NYC]

76. I think a friend of mine actually got one.

She had to take so many papers, etc. A stack over an inch high. All financial. She just leased her new apartment in June.

However, I'm not the slightest bit surprised that they would charge for one, then not run it. All they really need to know is if you have a salary that will cover the rent, and if it seems to be a secure job.

[Duer 157099]

13. Isn't it interesting

how they not only want to, but have made it possible, to monitor every last cent they give these people...

...and yet $9 billion is still missing in Iraq?

Why weren't they giving debit cards to Halliburton, or the other agencies in Iraq?

edit to add: oops, repeated, but worth repeating anyway

[NNN0LHI]

14. It appears that there are no debit cards being issued

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0509/07/lt.01.html

<snip>NGUYEN: There was some word here that families were being provided up to $2,000 in debit cards from FEMA. How has the response been on your end as you try to get those cards?

SENTINO: Well, I went to every location I could think of. They say there's no debit cards being issued, FEMA never heard of it. They don't know who's telling us that. And we heard over the local station, right here in Houston, Texas.

[americanstranger]

16. Category 5 Incompetence.

The fuckups just keep on coming, eh?

Isn't anyone in the government talking to one another?

-as

[trogdor]

17. Here's the Associated Press link.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20050907/D8CFH5F00.html

Either the AP got p0wn'd, or this is a work in progress.

[Sgent]

18. My family

knows nothing of it...

Of course who knows, they merely followed the rules, and are not PNAC supporters.

Although State Farm was able to issue a $2500 check 30 minutes after my dad walked into a local office 300 miles away from his former house.

[genieroze]

19. It's a start but they need something permanent.

[OKNancy]

20. Not now however

Report on CNN said in a week, maybe ten days or ?

[Spangle]

22. Grant or LOAN

It makes a difference.

A loan would be until other funds show up. Which means insurance money, etc. The amount will also be considered when applying for aid. So if they use it for travel expenses to get closer to family, etc.. Then apply for housing....

Same thing with the Grant.

This is a good thing, but it could also be a bad thing. And they can change the "rules" later.

[Mabus]

25. Will this affect bankruptcy proceedings?

I don't trust anything this regime does. One department doesn't seem to have a clue what another department is doing.

[DrZeeLit]

43. How does the new bankruptcy law affect those who lost everything and

might want to file bankruptcy?

I've only heard hints about it, but has anyone done an "in depth" article?
Just wondering.

[Mabus]

74. The Warren Court blog on tpmcafe.com has some good info

concerning the bankruptcy law and Katrina. http://warrenreports.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/8/21403/71529

As for a general article I'm not sure.

[Benhurst]

23. Aren't the settlers who squatted in the Gaza Strip being given

$150,000 to $450,000 per family by our oh-so-generous government? Maybe the Katrina victims ought to pretend to be Gaza Strip refugees.

Increasingly, being an American citizen sucks.

[underpants]

24. "doing very well" indeed

Good for them.

[sandnsea]

26. Did this in Florida too

It isn't unprecedented, they did this in Florida too, although I'm not sure it was $2,000. Red Cross usually gives out this amount of money to families after fires too, in the form of a voucher. Hopefully this will be a first step and housing assistance will come soon.

[wellstone_democrat]

40. Fla 2004: bro in law got 7000 for NOTHING

made a claim about "damages" no one checked, no one asked much but they did check his address with the voter reg rolls and he's an upper middle class Republican! Six months later a form to validate that he "repaired" his house. Yep, said he did it with his own two hands! Sure did, he pulled the junk out of his gutters himself because the yard guy wanted 100.00 to do it.

that, according to he and my sister was "a rip off"

but, 7K for nothing? no answer for that!

[drumz4hire]

44. Lemme guess....

he's probably one that loves ranting about "welfare bums" too

:rolleyes:

[wellstone_democrat]

46. OH YEAH! Especially THIS week...

but, I hear that second hand these days, once they enthused about the "covenants" in their development I pretty much cut off unnecessary contact with them. They are quite a pair.

[catzies]

69. Well, this story will be in my company's monthly credit card newsletter

Here's what it looked like for the press release:



Best Google News result from the AP wire:
http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=68923

[yppahemnkm]

27. Very good first step

towards some sort of normalcy

[brooklynite]

28. CNN just reported on the handling of this

People started lining up at a center in Houston at 4 AM this morning after hearing the cards would be distributed. FEMA showed up at 8 AM knowing nothing about it, and was only there to register evacuees. Officials have been trying to disburse the crowd, but people are still arriving to join the line.

[anarchy1999]

42. Just reported on WFAA, Dallas

Same story here, this bunch just keep on pushing all the buttons. Do they want this to explode? Jeez!

www.wfaa.com

[bassman79]

50. Nice.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

29. And a Merry Christmas it will be!! n/t

[mike_c]

30. there's a dark side to this sort of relief....

It shifts the responsibility of obtaining actual, material relief to the victims. What happens once their $2K is gone? This sort of program basically says "we're going to use free market capitalism to provide relief services by giving the victims some money to buy their own relief," which is fine as far as it goes, but I think the gov't should be directly responsible itself. This program allows it to dodge that responsibility by simply giving the victims a monetary grant, and a rather small one when you consider how long one can live on $2K in the U.S.

[alkaline9]

31. they probably figured out that an extra $2000 would...

...pad the income numbers for the people near the poverty line, so bush*s poverty figures would look favorable for next year. I'm sure there was lots of math involved... including estimating the dead, estimating how to spin the financials to bush*s favor, how to show that this disaster actually improved poverty levels in Amerika... MAKES ME SICK!

[KennedyGuy]

33. here is your typical "compassionate freeper response...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1479366/posts

[WildClarySage]

34. Oh christ, why did I look?

If I was in a hurricane, and lost everything I owned, spent five days stuck inside the superdome with all that's been reported there, could anyone seriously think that a pack of cigarettes and maybe even a beer wasn't going to be one of the first things I'd want? Some kind of stress relief? I can't believe the pettiness of those cree- I mean freeps.

[katinmn]

38. Grrrrr! Let's put all the Freepers in the Superdome and let them

kill ech other.

[NeoConsSuck]

64. What a pack of sickos..

what I would pay to find out the real names behind those posts.

[jwirr]

35. $2,000 per person or family? I would make a great difference.

[hogwyld]

73. I heard per person

I think I understand Mr. Olberman say it was something like 2000 per person per month. It would be recharged monthly until the head of household got a new job.

[steely]

36. And that's supposed to last how long??

If it lasted 1 or 2 weeks under normal conditions, I'd be stretching it.

[barackmyworld]

37. Freepers, how is this different from 9-11 funds?

I read some of those idiot posts. People in NY got millions when they lost one member of their family, and now we give $2000 to people who have lost EVERYTHING.

[katinmn]

39. Yes! I have been saying a precedent has been set with 9/11

and the money paid to those survivors.

[NYC]

63. Relatives of waiters got very little, not millions.

I think relatives of stock brokers and bond traders got millions. The worth of the dead was based on his employment.

[0007]

48. 2k isn't gonna very far

[caledesi]

52. That's right. 2K is a pittance. This makes me sick. nt

[godai]

55. The card can be re-filled

The debit cards can be augmented electronically, if the funds are used. The Red Cross is managing this and I think it's a very good step. Seems unreasonable to start with more than $2000.

I say, kudos to the Red Cross.

[Carni]

60. WOW! That'll last about three weeks--NT

[goodboy]

65. many of the 911 victims families got MILLIONS!!!MILLIONS!!!!!!!!

[classysassy]

72. There is a difference

New York =mostly white. New Orleans=mostly black.