It’s Time For Katrina Victims To Get Off The Dole

21 Mar, 2007 by John Hawkins

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From the liberal blog, Think Progress,

The House today is debating the Gulf Coast Hurricane Housing Recovery Act of 2007.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, introduced an amendment that would require victims of Hurricane Katrina to perform 20 hours/week of approved “work activities” to receive financial aid for housing.

…In an impassioned speech, Rep. David Scott (D-GA) addressed Hensarling on the House floor:

This amendment is cruel, it is cold, it is calculating, and it is pandering to the schizophrenic dichotomy that has plagued this nation since they first brought Africans on these shores from Africa. And that is the issue of race and poverty.

Katrina occurred in late August of 2005, which means it has been about a year and a half since the storm. Yet, you have liberals complaining about people being asked to work 20 hours a week to qualify for hurricane welfare? Give me a break.

Just because people suffered through Katrina doesn’t mean that you receive a get out of work for the rest of your life free card and are entitled to mooch off of your fellow citizens in perpetuity.

Does that sound harsh? Well, let’s just put it this way: people in the United States suffer through disasters of one sort or the other every year. There are hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, you name it and none of them have ever had as much spent on them as the people of New Orleans after Katrina. So now, 18 months later, it’s long since time for the people who were affected by Katrina to get off the dole and start taking care of themselves.