Obama, McCain snipe over catastrophe fund
The campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain are battering each other today over a proposed national catastrophe fund to shore up insurance for hurricanes and natural disasters.
With McCain campaigning today in Florida five days into hurricane season, Obama's campaign blasted McCain for opposing the fund.
"Once again John McCain has made clear that he is much more interested in standing with George Bush than getting the facts right or doing what’s right. But what John McCain doesn’t understand is that by choosing to stand with George Bush’s failed policies instead of standing with the families of Florida he can’t deliver the change the country needs and deserves,” Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement.
Tucker Bounds, a McCain spokesman, responded: “It’s disappointing that for the second day in a row for Senator Obama has chosen to use natural catastrophes to launch political attacks -- that’s not ‘change we can believe in.’ John McCain is opposed to a government-run National Catastrophe Fund, not because he doesn’t have serious concerns about the cost of insurance in Florida, but because it ignores the need for private insurance reforms to broaden markets and protections against the cherry-picking of individual states. John McCain earned Governor Crist’s endorsement well after Senator McCain had articulated his position on this issue, because John McCain has the strength, experience and judgment to lead.”
The proposed fund -- sought by Florida officials and others, but stuck in Congress -- is designed to help more property owners get insurance at lower premiums. It would be funded by the federal government and by states who choose to participate, and would spread the risk across the country and limit insurers' liability so they can offer affordable rates.
The Congress is bullying everything,why don't we have a King instead.
Socialism is Obama's way to solve everything. Why should all america solve the insurance problems of a few? Risks are an everyday issue....that's why the insurance industry is in business and why people have insurance. The higher the risk the higher the premiums..
john mc cain is a walking corpse. get real.
Doesn't such a fund ALREADY exist? Why do we need another one? And why should a state, for example my state of Nevada, fund an insurance program for states that experience hurricanes? Nevada doesn't have hurricanes. I'll support a hurricane program, if Congress starts a drought insurance program for states like Nevada.
Well, just more politics as usual.
Another Obama big government solution. Obama is teaching me that big government is the answer to all of our problems. Go Obama.
I have a question....I don't live in a catastrophe prone area. If I end up subsidizing the people in Florida through my taxes, can I vacation at their homes? Why not, if I am going to pay for a lifestyle of people who "choose" to live in Florida, why should I not have a week of vacation at a home on the beach??? By the way, I also have a health problem and my health insurance is "out the roof". I unfortunately didn't "choose" to have this health problem. If Obama gets elected, we will be paying to make it more convenient for people to live in Florida which will take away from our opportunity to create a better health care system. Obama's remarks on this issue clearly shows his ignorance and inexperience.
If John McCain ever paid attention he would have seen what happened to the people in the gulf coast after Katrina. Some lost everyting and then had to sue the private insurance companies to get the coverage they paid for. Private insurance companies only want the money and very little of the risk.
Everyone knows insurance is a scam. Look how many people had it for years and got double talked out of their claim. If we can spend billions on other countries we can sure as hell help a few of our own. The government wines up spending money everytime something bad happens so why not help people with insurance instead of footing the whole bill. Do you know we have sent Israel a few million a day for years, and we can't help our own people. I don't see McCain crying about that.
For all those who "don't live in a catastrophe prone area":
Really? Safe from earthquake? Forest fire? Terrorism? Tornado? Flooding?
This isn't subsidizing people who live in risk-prone areas (ask Connecticut residents who live miles from the sound which hasn't had a Hurricane in 50 years if their rates haven't gone up).
This is about providing help for true catastrophes: 9/11, Katrina, etc. If the one in a thousand catastrophes are capped, the rates will be lower for everyone.
But then again, you folks probably go without health insurance too...
Why don't you let people post on this board. If this is the John McCain for president web media home page I would understand. Just let us know so we can read the story somewhere else.
Private insurance reforms is a nice way of making sure the right people get paid first and most, rather than focusing on trying to help solve the problem. McCain's saying there aren't enough loopholes in the plan, and he needs to open up some gaps before lending his support.
Duh, peoples. It's a "National Catastrophes" fund. It's not a "Florida Hurricanes" fund. That means that if you live in a flood zone in Kentucky or a tornado zone in Kansas or a wildfire zone in California or a hurricane zone in Mississippi or whatever you can't get jacked by your individual insurer as easily the day after your particular state gets hit by a natural disaster. If you want to call that socialism, fine. I choose to think of it as smart regulation of the insurance industry, which tends to respond to singular events by screwing people over as often as possible. But maybe that's how I feel only because I've lived in different kinds of "catastrophe" areas and I've seen what happens to people who've paid their premiums and have, through no fault of their own, gotten hit by a storm and then seen their rates skyrocket and their benefits disappear after years of paying into a system that fails to protect them. There are very few places in this world where no "catastrophe" ever happens. If you're lucky enough to live in one of them and you have no compassion for the rest of the world, I suppose that's your prerogative. But you're fooling yourself if you think your tax dollars aren't covering the gaps left by insurance companies who bail on their responsibilities in the face of natural disasters. This Fund is meant to hold them more responsible - and in the long run, it's a much better fiscal and social policy than FEMA payouts and the myriad associated costs of long-term poisonous trailer living.
Tucker Bounds, McCain spokesman speaker's remarks are "CODE" for we don't want to talk about that.
This is a national Disgrace. What you people Do not understand is that the Insurance companies have banded together and decided that they are not going to sell insurance to anyone within 1 mile of the water. I live at the edge of a small canal and cannot get homeowners insurance.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
Send your comments to masspolitics@globe.com
browse this blog
by categoryINside Boston.com