A.M. in the Morning!: More "signs" of the times

by Ana Maria

Today, a tad over two years since Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast and the insurance industry began to ravage the financial security of American families and businesses, certain handmade signs remain as evidence that reveal the reality on the ground. The hurricane ravaged homes regardless of economic position, political party, religious affiliation, marital status, ethnic or racial background, etc. and so forth.

Joe De Benvenutti and his family have lived on Beach Boulevard in Bay St. Louis, Miss., for 23 years. He thought his flood insurance and his State Farm hurricane policy would cover his losses in case of a hurricane, but State Farm is refusing to pay his claim after Katrina. STAFF PHOTO / WILL ROTHSCHILD
Photo originally published here by the Herald Tribune.

Just last week, I saw Joe De and Betty Benvenutti. Joe De's sign is still there in their front yard. His 186 year old home was destroyed by Katrina's winds and some water. Like his truly good neighbors, the Taylors (that is, Congressman Gene Taylor and his wife, Margaret), Joe De and Betty Benvenutti had to hire a lawyer to FINALLY get a settlement. They are anticipating getting the check any week now.

That two years have gone by and people along the Gulf Coast remain rightfully furious about how the insurance companies have abandoned their "good neighbors" is a testament to the extent of the resentment . . . and the continual abandonment from a White House that refuses to so much as use the bully pulpit to push the insurance companies into doing what is right AND to push hard for, deliberately join hands in an overt manner with Congressman Gene Taylor and U.S. Senator Trent Lott to pass insurance reform so that no other American EVER, EVER go through this financial security crisis again.

In today's postings are a number of articles that echo this sentiment and provide proof positive of its validity.

What was said in 1992 is as true today of this Bush Administration as it was to the prior one.

. . . our government has lost touch with our values . . . I was raised to believe the American Dream was built on rewarding hard work.But we have seen the folks of Washington turn the American ethic on its head.

For too long, those who play by the rules and keep the faith have gotten the shaft, and those who cut corners and cut deals have been rewarded.

Presidential Nominee Bill Clinton
Acceptance Speech
Democratic National Convention, 1992

Well, the apparent universal truth is that if we don't like how others are treating us, it is up to us to do something about it, especially when are requests for change fall on deaf ears.

If you live outside of Congressman Gene Taylor's South Mississippi's district, please, contact your own congressional representative to express your desire to see the insurance industry fixed legislatively through the Multiple Peril Insurance policy Taylor proposed. It's part of H.R. 3121. Let your representative know that you ARE a good neighbor, that you HAVE to be in good hands should some kind of disaster befall you and your family. Tell your congressional representative that waiting for two years for insurance companies to do right is way too long for any American to be required to endure, and most assuredly you and your own family would be unable to endure it quietly or politely.

Changing our own behavior be it inside a personal or a political relationship always alters the dynamics. Always. ;)

© 2007 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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