Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama offered his support to a proposed national catastrophe fund, provided it does not also encourage risky development. “I think that we need a national catastrophe fund,” Sen. Obama said in an interview with the Palm Beach Post. “The key is to make sure that it's run efficiently, that it’s adequately funded, and that we build in smart incentives to assure that developers are mitigating risk when they're making decisions on where to locate homes or businesses.”
So he's proposing to have private enterprise do it?
| Isn't that concept called, 'insurance'? |
The national catastrophe fund is one seen as favorable to Floridians, and the legislation passed by the House was sponsored by two Florida representatives. Sen. Obama compared the situation facing homeowners in the sunshine state to those living in other parts of the country.
“The bottom line for the residents of Florida is they need protection in the same way that people in the Midwest need protection from tornadoes or other natural disasters,” he said. “And I think its important for us to make sure the federal government is playing a role as a backstop in that process.”
A nice concept, encouraging folks not to live in floodplains. Sort of like the Federal Flood Insurance Program, eh? So why do we need another bureaucracy, O?