Blanket federal spending after disasters can lead to rebuilding that isn’t in the best interest of the community, the state or the nation. But the government can help residents and property owners to become less vulnerable. To do that we have to spend and invest wisely, and most of all, not subsidize living in harm’s way.
Politicians miss the point when they grab a megaphone and cry out that we will rebuild. We need to rebuild smarter and better. Not just homes and businesses, but policies, programs and projects, ensuring we aren’t encouraging development in harm’s way.
Sometimes the best investment for governments and property owners is to move, not to rebuild.
Federal aid should make communities less exposed to disasters. When waters rose again in the Midwest just a few years after the flooding of 1993, the communities of Valmeyer, Ill., and Arnold, Mo. were not reflooded. Taxpayer assistance had moved them to higher ground.
No one is suggesting we move the entire New Jersey seacoast. But we can buy out and encourage mitigation of the most vulnerable properties. Every dollar in mitigation saves four in recovery.
Furthermore, we have to re-examine our subsidy systems that encourage high-risk development:
- The subsidized federal flood insurance program is more than $17 billion in debt, and its rates do not reflect the true risk.
- Federal storm protection efforts spend hundreds of millions of dollars pumping sand onto beaches, from which it erodes away every few years.
- Waivers of state and local cost-sharing of disaster funds remove “skin in the game” incentives to reduce future costs, spend wisely and quickly, according to the Homeland Security inspector general.
With sea level rise and predictions of more and more intense storms, we cannot afford to rely on temporary fixes like sand pumping and federal flood insurance. The long-term solution is moving out of harm’s way, and the taxpayer’s job is to help that move, not inhibit it.
Written By: Steve Ellis, Vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Original Publication URL: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/11/26/should-federal-money-rebuild-coastal-properties/when-to-relocate-and-when-to-rebuild-after-disasters-4
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