Friday, July 30, 2010
| Make Florida More Hurricane-Resistant
published: Sep 28, 2009
by: Eli Lehrer and John Hallman
As hurricane-ridden September passes by, much of the news in Florida appears good: Hurricanes, so far, have stayed away from U.S. coastlines, the Legislature has passed a few common-sense reforms to the state's property insurance system and state CFO Alex Sink says that the state's troubled Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (Cat Fund) has gained a firmer fiscal footing. more... |
|
|
| A catastrophe waiting to happen
published: Sep 15, 2009
by: Jonathan Orszag
This month marks the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. That raises a simple question: Are we prepared as a Nation for the next mega-catastrophe (one, perhaps, worse than Katrina) that will inevitably strike our country? more... |
|
|
| The Meltdown Next Time: The financial danger nobody knows about.
published: Sep 12, 2009
by: Eli Lehrer
When the insurance giant American International Group was threatened with collapse in late 2008, its credit default swap business and other international operations were cited as the heart of its troubles. But the largest consequence of AIG's uncontrolled failure on consumers' pocketbooks could have come from the domino-like collapse of its businesses writing insurance on boats, cars, homes, lives, and just about everything else. If these businesses fell apart as a result of AIG's overall collapse, the argument went, the contagion could have brought a collapse of everything from retirement savings plans to auto insurance claims payments from companies unconnected to AIG. (In theory, the operations were firewalled from AIG's other operations, but the extremely slow rate at which they've found buyers indicates that many had significant exposure to the company's other woes.) more... |
|
|
Tell the President and Congress what you think.
Get monthly updates about Beach House Bailouts
|
|
Tax, Environmental Groups Question Hurricane Bailout Plan |
by: Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
published: Jun 01, 2009
As hurricane season officially starts today, a battle between lawmakers from hurricane states and environmentalist and taxpayer groups is brewing over how to handle natural disasters and their aftermath. The fight was kicked off last month when Florida Rep. Ron Klein introduced the Homeowners' Defense Act, which would let states pool resources to provide national disaster insurance for those living in Hurricane Alley. His argument is that it would spread out the cost, thus making the insurance cheaper for the homeowners living near coastal areas. He says that a similar plan had Sen. Barack Obama's support two years ago.
But taxpayer and environmental groups have come together in an unusual coalition to fight the plan, which they view as a bailout for wealthy beach-house owners. Instead, SmarterSafer.org, formerly Americans for Smart Natural Catastrophe Policy, wants to focus on mitigation policies to lessen the impact of natural disasters like hurricanes. ''Our side is to strengthen mitigation policies so that homes are more likely to be protected so they don't have to be rebuilt again and again when a major hurricane strikes,'' spokesman Ron Bonjean told Whispers. ''The other side would like to establish a national catastrophe fund in order to bail out wealthy homeowners who choose to live along the ocean without proper insurance or strengthening their homes. It's a bailout for beach houses.'' The coalition includes groups like the Sierra Club, Taxpayers for Common Sense, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and American Rivers. ''We oppose a natural catastrophe backstop because it incentivizes building in ecologically sensitive areas,'' says American Rivers Vice President Andrew Fahlund. The coalition has launched a special website, www.SmarterSafer.org, to build support for mitigation policies.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
