Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Post Katrina BS

Leave it to Bama and all of those who love to Roll Tide to take advantage of Katrina and manipulate the system to their advantage.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - With large swaths of the Gulf Coast still in ruins from Hurricane Katrina, rich federal tax breaks designed to spur rebuilding are flowing hundreds of miles inland to investors who are buying up luxury condos near the University of Alabama’s football stadium.

About 10 condominium projects are going up in and around Tuscaloosa, and builders are asking up to $1 million for units with granite countertops, king-size bathtubs and ‘Bama decor, including crimson couches and Bear Bryant wall art.

While many of the buyers are Crimson Tide alumni or ardent football fans not entitled to any special Katrina-related tax breaks, many others are real estate investors who are purchasing the condos with plans to rent them out.

And they intend to take full advantage of the generous tax benefits available to investors under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, or GO Zone, according to Associated Press interviews with buyers and real estate officials.

Gotta love it, right? The rebuilding after Katrina has been one of the most disgusting events in recent American history. Two years after Katrina happened we still have people living in toxic FEMA trailers while folks are more concerned making luxury condos. The saddest part of it is, all this money being spent in Iraq could be spent to rebuild homes, levees, repair bridges, fix our basic infrastructure. Of course, we can't do that, that isn't the Republican way. That way is to not fund these things, leave it to companies, to states that cannot afford it, and then wonder why tragedies happen in America that could have been prevented.

1 comment:

Dews said...

Some of those FEMA trailers are actually being sold back now to State governments. Its amazing, they went out and paid roughly 20-40k each for these things, and are selling them back to state agencies for about 4k...

Someone is making some serious money off of this all.

Thank God the Army Corps of Engineers budget was cut so much 10 years ago (to the tune of almost 80%). Couldn't see that foreshadowing the "need" for contractors at all...