I saw a report on CNN that angered me. An attractive black woman and her family of 7 had lost their home or homes in New Orleans and were living in an 800 square foot apartment, which was crammed with all their possessions, and obviously a very tight fit. THey were waiting for a FEMA trailer, and the crux of the story is that the trailers end up costing FEMA about $3300 a month, once utilities, shipping, removal, and other fees are added on. The reporter goes on to show us a beautiful and large residence that the family could have in New Orleans for less money per month. Ok, the trailers are stupid, I've thought that from the beginning. I'm unhappy that anyone was dumb enough to decide to use that idea after seeing the costs.

But that's not the part of the story that really made mad. When they returned to the small apartment to show the kids going to bed on an air matress while the mother laid down on a couch, I noticed a gigantic, 60" widescreen projection TV. And in that short time I saw several other expensive items. I can't really blame the family for not wanting to sell their stuff when they know the government is going to take care of them, but I can blame the government for training people not to take care of themselves. I love my TV, my CDs, my books, but if I just lost my home and had all my goods intact, I'd be selling off a number of items. Maybe I'm overreacting, but it seemed a symbol of a lot that I think is going wrong in this country.