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Oct 11Liked by Helen Raleigh

Hello Helen,

Someone once said, "It hurts when I hit my hand with a hammer" to which the responder said, "Well, then stop hitting your hand with the hammer."

When are we, as voters, going to say to people who live in floodplains whose house got flooded again, "You chose to live there knowing the risk. It is up to you to pay for the rebuild or relocation."

Or say to people who live in hurricane prone areas, "You chose to live there, it is up to you, not the taxpayers, to cover the cost of rebuilding."

When I grew up, we would lose power during the winter, but we were prepared for it. Our furnace did not require electricity or gas. We had flashlights strategically placed throughout the house. And we had extra blankets to stay warm in the -10 degree F temperatures. We (actually my parents) chose to live there and took the steps to make it possible. They did not rely on the government to bail them out for their risky decision.

Much of our coastal areas and areas near major rivers are in known floodplain areas. If you choose to live there, it is wrong for you to rely on taxpayers to pay for your decision.

Florida and the Gulf coast get several hurricanes per year which cause damage to homes and properties. We know that. If you choose to live there, YOU should be responsible to pay for the damages you knew could happen.

But people are going to make risky decisions because they know we taxpayers will bail them out when disaster strikes. It is actually the taxpayers who are the ones making the bad decisions when we reelect politicians who have in the past made us pay for others risky decisions.

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In what A area of this great country do you live?

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