FEMA: “We’ll Leave The Light On For You.”

Five bucks can’t buy you much these days. A movie rental, a funny t-shirt, maybe a footlong sandwich. But in New Orleans, five bucks is going much further.

Amidst all the suffering and slow rebuilding of New Orleans, FEMA will sell hurricane victims a trailer for 5 bucks or less. If one has been living in a trailer in order to rebuild their home, the trailer they have been living in can be sold to them at low costs, rather than having to vacate them.

This is a drastic new development: as of a week or so ago, they had until the end of this month to GTFO those trailers.

That’s right. FEMA had sent out eviction notices to those living in supplied emergency trailers to vacate by the end of the month and find other housing. About one third of the trailers that are currently occupied are eligible to be sold at these bargain-basement prices, which solves a fraction of the problem but still leaves others out in the cold, as those who are not living in ’sale trailers’ must depend on donation programs, which may or may not get them a new home.

What is going to happen to the other few thousand residents? Is this response too little, too late? It’s great news to hear that FEMA is trying to do right… but what do you think? Does this leave a bad taste in your mouth? Say your piece in the comments.

Posted by:

Steve Romain