Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainYooh
Calgary Herald today published Don Braid's opinion article, where he warns about scammers that might (and will) try profiting from the flood and Government assistance. Also, he opines that Government should fully reimburse people for the damages to their homes based on their actual property assessment value and for the lost stuff - based on the fixed rates for each item (e.g. $300 per lost TV regardless of what TV it was etc.). I consider Braid a good journalist and I have a lot of respect for his opinions, normally; but in this case I am not sure I agree with him. As in my original post, this would mean that people in a $5M home could get a $1M reimbursement from the taxpayers, while people in a $300,000 home would only get a $20,000 assistance, hypothetically.
I think the amount of flood assistance should be evaluated on needs first, on wealth - second and on actual damages - third.
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Yeah I certainly don't agree with him on this at all.
The government should be helping people get their houses livable again. How you fix that is a whole other situation. Obviously that means completely rebuilding in High River, which is fine. But replacing someone's finished basement in Elbow Park or any other area should not be a priority. Just because no one had any concerns about certain areas flooding before shouldn't determine whether they get things replaced. If a lightening bolt hits a house, does the government reimburse the owner because they weren't expecting it?
If your new basement and entertainment center got ruined that's up to insurance. If it was sewer backup that should absolutely be covered.
If my house outside the flood plain flooded unexpectedly I'd get no reimbursement from the government to replace anything, let alone my big screen. My insurance would have to cover it, and if they didn't I guess I'm out of luck. This being a large flood shouldn't change any of that. It absolutely sucks, but tax dollars shouldn't be going to unnecessary items.
It's an awful situation all around, and hopefully all the insurance companies step up and provide coverage for those with sewer back up.