trailers provided to Hurricane Katrina victims by FEMA supposedly being substandard, and causing health problems for thousands and these thousands are embarking on a major class action suit against the government the trailer manufacturers, and anyone else involved in the process.According to the article, FEMA placed an order for the trailers with several mobile home companies to fill the need and fill it fast.
2.7 Billion worth of trailers and mobile homes were ordered all with a 'single page of specifications'. This single page of specifications is where health officials and defense attorneys say lies the problem. They claim that more specification needed to be in place to protect the potential occupants of the trailers.
It turns out that Trailers and Mobile homes safety standards are not the same as those in a permanent home or stick built homes.
Formaldehyde seems to be the culprit in this issue.
Formaldehyde (embalming fluid) is a preservative. It is used as a wood preservative and is also found in construction adhesives.
Formaldehyde is one of those chemicals that when exposed to heat and moisture; emanates it's harmful gases. When thinking of Louisianan and Mississippi; heat and moisture are two words that are the first that come to my mind. However, according to the government there is no regulation on the amount of formaldehyde laden wood products that can be used in a RV or Trailer, because they are considered to be 'temporary' and that long term exposure to these chemicals would not be a factor.
Additionally, much of the wood used in these structures is imported from guess where????
China of course, and they use so much formaldehyde in their wood that if an American Plywood plant tried to put out products such as these; their plants would be deemed an EPA Superfund sight.
Where does the blame game end?
Tens of thousands of people live in an area that everyone on the planet knows is below sea level.
Hundreds of Millions in government money has been poured into this same place over the last century to try and make the Levey's storm proof.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were given to the victims in the form of debit cards so that they could relocate.
Then the people who refused to leave were given a home, made from the same stuff that these home and RV manufacturers make their products out of every day.
Our government signed a bill in the 90's opening up trade with China, a country that we know doesn't give a rip about it's people, but we sign a trade agreement with them, and end up cutting the carotid artery to our country's economy, as there is absolutely know way that we can compete with their prices because they use slave labor.
Self Righteous Politicians stand before us every day telling us of they are going to make it all better.
When the truth of the matter is that our government is promoting racism and slavery by trading with these countries.
We are not humanitarian. There is no regulation on the trailers because poor people live in them. There is no regulation on the imports from China and India and all of the other places we import from because we want stuff cheap and we want it in one store and we want it now.
Our country is so different than it was the last time the Mississippi devastated as much as it did after Katrina.
My Grandfather was a child during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. He lived in Tennessee on the Cumberland River and the flood was sooooo great that it backed up adjoining rivers over several states. Over a million people lost their homes and were displaced. Well over 1000 people died, but probably many more because there were so many people unaccounted for because we didn't have the luxury of communication the way that we do now.
My point in sharing this about the flood of 27 is because there was no FEMA then, there were no debit cards sent out to the victims. The military was not dispatched to help rebuild the cities.
People got sick and died and no companies were sued because the river flooded.
Communities came together and helped as much as they could. My Grandfather told me that they were already so poor they didn't really notice much of a difference in their lives after the flood except that their house washed away, and they stayed with his Grandfather for a while until they found another house that they could live in. It wasn't big enough, and my Great Grandmother asked a wealthy childless couple if they would be willing to raise my Grandfather and in return he would do all of the work that they needed to be done around their farm.
Her only request was that he be allowed to go to school and get his education. They agreed and when he was twelve he went to live with this couple. He rose every morning before dawn and milked the cows, gathered the eggs, and slopped the hogs, before school. After school he went fishing. The fish he caught was to be brought to the house and the lady of the house would pick which fish she wanted then he took the mule into town and was to sell the rest. The money made was given to the lady. He planted the couples garden and the vegetables and flowers were also taken into town and sold, with the money made going back to the lady.
My Grandfather was an indentured servant here in America.
He graduated high school, which happened to be right in the middle of the Great Depression, and he thanked the couple for their care and walked to town, hopped on a freight train and went looking for work. He became an iron worker and followed building booms around the country.
He was one of the men who built many of the bridges along the east coast including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It was on this bridge that he lost his eye. He was shot in the head with a hot rivet out of a rivet gun. He didn't fall off. He climbed down and was taken to the hospital. A week after being released from the hospital, he went back to work. He didn't sue his company, he didn't sue the bridge authority, he didn't sue the rivet gun manufacturer. He did at some point run into the guy who accidentally shot him. The man profusely apologized, and said what a horrible mistake he had made. My Granddad accepted his apology and that was that.
This is the way it used to be.
This is the kind of character that made our country great.
This is the kind of life our forefathers led.
These are the examples that have been set before us and at some point in time we stopped listening to them and stopped watching them.
No one takes responsibility for anything anymore, the buck is passed and passed and it stops with no one.
It is time for each of us to take responsibility. It is time for our government officials to take responsibility.
It is time to stop teaching our kids that some one else is going to take care of them.
Let's stop supporting and perpetuating the things that we know are wrong.
Life happens and life is sometimes dangerous. We do what we have to do, and others do what they do.
Poverty isn't a crime, it is a state of your wallet, or lack thereof.
Wealth doesn't make you a better person, it makes your wallet fatter.
The victims of Hurricane Katrina were victims of a storm, and they unlike any other victims on the face of the earth have received more attention, aide, money and help.
Is it not yet enough?
No it is not enough.
ReplyDeleteOur government took responsibility in 1990 when they allowed trade with china over U.S.A made goods.
When the gov took the homes down there they should have been safe.
Its not the people that are to fault.
It is our gov for letting it happen.
I pay taxes . I want it done right or not at all.
I know you want to blame the democrates.
But this happened under the bush administration.
What havent they messed up. Be real.
Why did this post have to be so darn long? I could have said what was said in a couple of paragraphs.
ReplyDeleteWho has the time to sit and read about your great grand parents and grandfather too? Be reasonasble with what your posting please. Yes, we should be very careful what we buy from China. I served almost three years there in the mid-40's and can tell you from experience that they do not have any decent controls in place for what they produce, and none of our inspectors are there to check things out!
A. Goetz
U.S. goods are no longer the picture of quality and perfection. Unions have made damned sure that workers are not held accountable for anything but trying to get more, more, more, for less, less, less. The willingness of Americans to buy things made in other countries should have been a wake up call to American companies to improve quality and reduce cost or move over and let these other countries push you out of business. Do you think we should forbid these businesses from other countries from selling products here just so that we can be forced to purchase over priced, poor quality products from American companies just because they are from America? As long as unions convince employees to rape their employers for more money and benefits (especially when the economy is poor) the costs of goods sold will continue to increase. When their price is more than the market will bear, the union employees will have effectively demanded themselves out of jobs. (Dresser, Crown) The void will be filled by companies that produce the same product at a price ppl can afford - no matter where the company is from. Stop all the handouts and let people earn what they're worth.
ReplyDeleteThese homes were to be occupied
ReplyDeleteon a short term basis.These people
will not help themselves because
the government has supported most of them all their life.They think
the gov. owes them a living.They are not willing to work or pay their own way.
how much of the eastern shore is under sea level and yet you choose to live there.
ReplyDeleteThis post was long, boring, and left out the part about the money being used improperly by the ones who received it and never mention what was done to recover this money. If they are going to bring out one point bring out all the waste of Tax Payer's money on the this subject. Why does the President and their administration always get blamed. Is there not a Congress who has to pass the legislation for it to be accomplished? They are not the President or his administration.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the long post guys, I put the hyperlink in for the original article that was 4 times as long as my post. They now want to spend 10 times what was originally spent to sue these companies,and help these people with their medical bills.
ReplyDeleteYes, most of the Eastern Shore is about 4 ft. about sea level except for OC and down county in Accomac which is right there.
I'm not blaming a democrat or a republican. I am blaming myself and you and you and each and every one of us for allowing ourselves to think for one minute that it is the governments responsibilty to bail us out when a natural disaster strikes.
How Pompous of us to presume to be more powerful than nature, and that we can simply fix it.
No man ever has nor ever will tame the Mighty Mississippi. They try and they try and they never can.
You heard about my grandfather to so I could put into perspective for you exactly how hard life is when you take responsibility for yourself and yours.
My Granddad now 94 has raised 3 children, 3 grandchildren and now has 6 great grandchildren that he workded to provide a retirement for himself and a heritage for his family.
The unions didn't know when to stop pushing they became their own worst enemy. But purchasing products from companies that use slave labor is unconscienable.
The RV provided for FEMA weren't any different than the ones sold to you and me. They aren't for long term use. They are for recreation.
Lumber Mills in America are almost a thing of the past.
There used to be one here in Pocomoke and one day they sold it to China. The Chinese came here and #'rd every piece of wood and screw holding it together took it apart and put it on barges down the Pocomoke, and out to the bay to be picked up and taken to China.
Three hundred good paying jobs left with it.
We have to stop voting for war, and foreign aide and more government programs. We have to start taking care of ourselves or we won't have anything left.
Ok now that most unions are gone,who you going to blame. The chinese.
ReplyDeleteBuy japan and what ever you want.
This county has gone to hell.
Why dresser was sold is because Haliburton did not want that portion of the business.
ReplyDeleteAnd more corporate greed.
Dick Chaney and the good ole boys , just like you
so buy jap.
If it is not the gov responsibility to bail us out,How come it is there resposibility to tax us to death?
ReplyDeleteWe are really no longer the United States of America anymore. When Clinton or Obama gets in will be the final straw.
ReplyDeleteClinton screwed this country up, and the liberal tree huggers made it happen.
We are no where close to what this country use to be, ONE NATION UNDER GOD!
We are a bunch of people letting EVERYONE push us around and do things we dont agree with.
The only reason no one will bomb us is we have already been invaded. We let anyone in the country adn give them free education while someone who has been born here has to pay. We let anyonoe in the country get a business started tax free while we have to pay for it. We let worthless drug dealing, using people with chips on their shoulders get free food, but not require them to work for it at goverment jobs facilities to give them incentive to get off their a$$es.
We have loss this country to people who no longer believe that god or morality exhists and belive that all things need to be fair no matter how old you are. Lets not punish the wrong, lets be fair to them. Lets make kids stay in school so they can be distractions to others.
This Country Is done, if other countries were not so hard to get in to, I would leave.
If Clinton or Obama win, I will find a way to leave.
No I did not spell check, nor did I proof. Its a blog and I am drafting this out, find something else to bitch about. You overly educated liberal assholes
10:48 am
ReplyDeleteIt is a scarey thing , but I almost agree with you!
Guys!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am blaming ourselves for letting this happen.
What are we going to do about it.
The Chinese didn't force our hands to sign these treaties and aggreements. The idiots we have voted into office have.
Businessmen can take advantage of cheap labor with no health care or retirement benefits by moving/building plants overseas. Prices are lower, profits soar.
ReplyDelete