WTVM Editorial 06/28/23: FEMA vs. Georgia

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - You might have missed a recent news item during an always busy week of news.

That story is about the Federal Emergency Management Administration, known as FEMA, denying Georgia’s request for major disaster relief after the tornadoes, and other severe weather experienced in Troup County just last March.

That’s when an EF3 tornado ripped through LaGrange and West Point.

Dozens of homes were destroyed; a hundred others left severely damaged.

The storm’s only upside was no loss of life in Georgia from the same system that killed 26 people in Mississippi and Alabama.

But federal disaster experts said no, the Georgia damage did not quote, “meet the threshold” for additional emergency funds from the federal government.

FEMA says the damage could be handled by the local governments, the state and voluntary agencies…even though Troup County’s own Emergency managers said the damage exceeded all their resources.

So now these homeowners are essentially on their own.

It’s important – for comparison – to note what the government does agree to spend our taxes on, while they deny emergency help to our neighbors.

For instance, $1.7 Billion dollars is what the government spends every year to maintain 77,000 empty office buildings.

Did you know the government once spent $28 Million on camouflage uniforms for Afghanistan - with a pattern meant for forests not deserts?

And every year $2 Trillion, with a “t”, is lost due to incompetent government accountants.

They made improper payments to millions of Americans, including many who are dead.

It’s easy to get angry about government waste and we all should be angry…especially when area towns and cities, torn apart by severe weather, are told their damage just isn’t bad enough to qualify for help.

If you want to see the state get the support it deserves from FEMA, call your U.S. Senators.

Ask them why the government denies help to Georgians trying to rebuild their lives after a tornado, but always has millions of dollars for incompetent bureaucrats to throw down the nearest drain.

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