Around this time two years ago, Hurricane Katrina was dissipating over the eastern United States, and the full extent of its damage was becoming clear.
More than 1,800 lives and $80 billion in damage later, the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas laid in shambles. Even with caring citizens rushing south to aid the hundreds of thousands of lost souls and donating millions of dollars to rebuild, the region remained a hell on Earth.
Insurance companies, politicians and other administrators who were supposed to be protecting the populace during troubled times were seemingly more focused on protecting themselves. It seems that when the insurance companies proposed their policies to the citizens of Louisiana and Mississippi, flood insurance was somehow left out.
But later, during all the debate about how to rebuild New Orleans, Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss. proposed one good idea. It was for a government-created insurance to cover severe natural disasters such as floods, heavy winds and other dangers.
And now, as the United States endures severe flooding in the Midwest, good ideas and proper planning would come in handy. Yet it is nowhere to be found.
According to an article from the New York Times on August 24, there was one individual in Ottawa, Ohio who was told he didn't need flood insurance. It would have been one extra triplicate form and a little extra money going to an insurance company that could have gone a long way towards protecting a home.
We, as Americans, describe the badly-handled tragedy of two years ago as needing competent leadership and quick-fire action. With pending danger staring us in the face, where is the leadership we need now?
Buffalo ranks as second-poorest large city
Tuesday brought good news and bad news from the US Census Bureau for Buffalonians. The bad news: Buffalo is the second poorest big city in the United States. The good news: Buffalo is wealthier than Detroit!
We are a city economically divided. UB's North Campus, for example, is well isolated from the near 30 percent of Buffalo's population who live in poverty. But is that a good thing?
There are many universities nationwide that require community service of their students, not only as penalty for wrongdoing, but on a regular basis. Not only would this de-shelter the UB students from the brick and concrete walls that surround them, but it also would have a positive effect on the city.
Additionally, students may find that having connections within the community-other than knowing the local bartenders-can be extremely beneficial. Buffalo's heroes, artisans and leaders still reside in the city, needing no more than a phone call to revisit the past.
iPods won't matter when it all comes down and students graduate from UB. It is then that the true responsibility falls on the shoulders of the students. Now that Buffalo has provided you with sex, drugs and liquor, you must pay your dues and do your best to make Buffalo what it once was: far better than Detroit.
Tuesday brought good news and bad news from the US Census Bureau for Buffalonians. The bad news: Buffalo is the second poorest big city in the United States. The good news: Buffalo is wealthier than Detroit!
We are a city economically divided. UB's North Campus, for example, is well isolated from the near 30 percent of Buffalo's population who live in poverty. But is that a good thing?
There are many universities nationwide that require community service of their students, not only as penalty for wrongdoing, but on a regular basis. Not only would this de-shelter the UB students from the brick and concrete walls that surround them, but it also would have a positive effect on the city.
Additionally, students may find that having connections within the community-other than knowing the local bartenders-can be extremely beneficial. Buffalo's heroes, artisans and leaders still reside in the city, needing no more than a phone call to revisit the past.
iPods won't matter when it all comes down and students graduate from UB. It is then that the true responsibility falls on the shoulders of the students. Now that Buffalo has provided you with sex, drugs and liquor, you must pay your dues and do your best to make Buffalo what it once was: far better than Detroit.
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
