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SARASOTA Observer
YourObserver.com
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
Observer opinion | our view SARASOTA
“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.” Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944 Editor & CEO / Matt Walsh mwalsh@yourobserver.com Executive Editor / Lisa Walsh lwalsh@yourobserver.com Chief Digital Officer / Emily Walsh ewalsh@yourobserver.com Deputy Executive Editor / Jessica Luck jluck@yourobserver.com Managing Editor / Randi Donahue rdonahue@yourobserver.com News Editors / David Conway, dconway@yourobserver.com Nolan Peterson, npeterson@yourobserver.com Community Editors / Nick Friedman, nfriedman@yourobserver.com Yaryna Klimchak, yklimchak@yourobserver.com Managing Editor/Diversions-Season / Stephanie Hannum, stephanie@yourobserver.com Arts & Entertainment Editor / Mallory Gnaegy mgnaegy@yourobserver.com Black Tie Assistant Editor / Heather Merriman hmerriman@yourobserver.com Managing Editor/Design / Nancy Schwartz nschwartz@yourobserver.com Design Editor / Nicole Thompson nthompson@yourobserver.com Director of Advertising / Jill Raleigh jraleigh@yourobserver.com East County Advertising Manager / Lori Ruth lruth@yourobserver.com Sales Manager / Rosemary Felton rfelton@yourobserver.com Sales Manager /Penny DiGregorio, pdigregorio@ yourobserver.com Senior Advertising Executive / Laura Ritter lritter@yourobserver.com Advertising Executives / Patti Duff, pduff@yourobserver.com Beth Holman, bholman@yourobserver.com Beth Jacobson, bjacobson@yourobserver.com Robert Lewis, blewis@yourobserver.com Suzanne Munroe, smunroe@yourobserver.com Robyn Didelot, rdidelot@yourobserver.com Brand Marketing Manager / Leslie Gnaegy lgnaegy@yourobserver.com Sales Coordinator/Account Managers / Lori Downey, ldowney@yourobserver.com Susan Leedom, sleedom@yourobserver.com Rachel Livingston, rlivingston@yourobserver.com Classified Advertising Sales Executives/ Maureen Hird, mhird@yourobserver.com Deedie Parker, dparker@yourobserver.com Director of Production and Information Technology / Kathy Payne, kpayne@yourobserver.com Assistant Production Manager / Brooke Schultheis, bschultheis@yourobserver.com Advertising Graphic Designers / Monica DiMattei, mdimattei@yourobserver.com Marjorie Holloway, mholloway@yourobserver.com Jim Knake, jknake@yourobserver.com Chris Stolz, cstolz@yourobserver.com Luis Trujillo, ltrujillo@yourobserver.com Director of Digital Sales / Kathleen O’Hara kohara@yourobserver.com Interactive Art Director / Caleb Stanton cstanton@yourobserver.com Digital Content Manager / Clint Weldon cweldon@digitalobservermedia.com Digital Marketing Consultant / Brandon Steinert bsteinert@digitalobservermedia.com Digital Fulfillment Specialist / Jordon Stone jstone@digitalobservermedia.com Digital Content Producer / Alex Mahadevan alexm@yourobserver.com Video Producer / Eddie Kirsch ekirsch@yourobserver.com Chief Financial Officer / Laura Keisacker lkeisacker@yourobserver.com Controller / Lisa Schwenk lschwenk@yourobserver.com Office Coordinator / Donna Condon dcondon@yourobserver.com
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Flood insurance: catastrophe Politicians do a lot of dumb things in this country. For at least the past 150 years, our national politicians increasingly have enacted the lies that they can give people something for nothing (or something for less than it really costs) and that it’s OK to confiscate the property of one to give an unearned benefit to another. Or, you just print more money and make future generations pay. This, of course, is why the nation is $17 trillion in debt. And this, of course, is why Floridians’ rising flood insurance rates are causing coastal property owners to squeal. Since 1968, the start of the National Flood Insurance Program, Congress has never charged the real cost of flood insurance. It’s not inaccurate to say, thanks to Congress (and the American taxpayers, virtually every waterfront property owner in this area and along America’s coasts lives less expensively than he otherwise would. And thanks to this politically expedient policy, Congress has allowed the National Flood Insurance Program to fall $18 billion in debt. But finally, recognizing the insanity of their way, Congress in 2012 adopted the Biggert-Waters Act, a phased-in plan that will increase flood-insurance rates up to 25% per year for four years for vacation homes, businesses and repetitive-loss properties located in the most vulnerable
flood zones. The idea is to make those who choose to live and do business in harm’s way carry the full financial burden of their decision. What a concept. Predictably, lawmakers from states with the highest flood claims and largest number of flood-prone properties are now feeling backlash from constituents. Take U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida. In a recent letter to two committee chairman, Nelson penned classic political double-speak: “I’m not opposed to making the floodinsurance program more financially stable, but it won’t do much good if it turns out folks cannot afford coverage.” Nelson wants the rate increases delayed a year to allow Congress to “gather more information” about how many people will be affected and the cost. Unfortunately, senator, you can’t have it both ways — fiscally sound and low cost. Fact is, there is no easy, painless way out. Many municipal commissioners and coastal property owners alike now worry that the rising flood-insurance rates are going to do more than cost property owners in higher premiums. They worry that higher insurance costs are going to make coastal communities less attractive and thereby adversely affect property values. Perhaps so. But here’s what we’re also seeing: Having witnessed the devastation that comes from weakly constructed homes and businesses on the coasts, those who choose to buy and tear down the
REMEMBER NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN? As you witness the Obama administration’s foreign-policy fiascos with Syria, Iran and Vladimir Putin, it’s worth reviewing history. As we know, history repeats. We’re thinking of Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister who negotiated with Adolph Hitler. The following excerpts on Chamberlain are from Spartacus Educational, a British online encyclopedia: — Ed.
specifically forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. Some members of the House of Commons, including Anthony Eden and Winston Churchill, now called on Chamberlain to take action against Hitler and his Nazi government. Hugh Christie, an MI6 agent based in Berlin, met with Hermann Goering. He reported his conversation with Goering and included information that Germany intended to take control of Austria and Czechoslovakia. He also told Christie that Anthony Eden, Chamberlain’s foreign Germany mainly wanted “a free hand in secretary, did not agree with Eastern Europe.” [Chamberlain’s] policy of In March 1938, Christie told appeasement and resigned the British government that in February, 1938. Eden was Adolf Hitler would be ousted replaced by Lord Halifax who by the military if Britain joined fully supported this policy. forces with Czechoslovakia Winston Churchill, against Germany. Christie Chamberlain’s leading critic warned that the “crucial queswithin the Conservative tion is: ‘How soon will the next Party, argued in the House of step against Czechoslovakia be Commons: tried?’ … The probability is that “The resignation of the late Chamberlain the delay will not exceed two or foreign secretary may well be three months at most, unless a milestone in history. Great France and England provide quarrels, it has been well said, arise from the deterrent, for which cooler heads in small occasions but seldom from small Germany are praying.” causes. International tension increased when “The late foreign secretary adhered to Adolf Hitler began demanding that the the old policy which we have all forgotSudetenland in Czechoslovakia should be ten for so long. The Prime Minister and under the control of the German governhis colleagues have entered upon anothment. In an attempt to solve the crisis, er and a new policy. The old policy was the heads of the governments an effort to establish the rule of law in of Germany, Britain, France Europe, and build up through the League and Italy met in Munich in of Nations effective deterrents against September, 1938. the aggressor. On Sept. 29, 1938, “Is it the new policy to come to terms Chamberlain, Adolf Hitler, with the totalitarian powers in the hope Edouard Daladier and Benito that by great and far-reaching acts of Mussolini signed the Munich submission, not merely in sentiment and Agreement, which transferred pride, but in material factors, peace may to Germany the Sudetenland, be preserved?” a fortified frontier region that In February, 1938, Adolf Hitler invited contained a large GermanKurt von Schuschnigg, the Austrian chan- speaking population. A.H. cellor, to meet him at Berchtesgarden. When Eduard Benes, Hitler demanded concessions for the Czechoslovakia’s head of state, Austrian Nazi Party. Schuschnigg refused who had not been invited to Munich, and after resigning was replaced by protested at this decision, Chamberlain Arthur Seyss-Inquart, the leader of the told him that Britain would be unwillAustrian Nazi Party. ing to go to war over the issue of the On March 13, Seyss-Inquart invited Sudetenland. the German Army to occupy Austria and The Munich Agreement was popular proclaimed union with Germany. The with most people in Britain because it union of Germany and Austria had been appeared to have prevented a war with
30- and 40-year-old homes in flood-prone areas are rebuilding better, storm- and flood-resistant structures. They’re lowering the risk, which in time will reduce the cost of insurance and incentivize private investors to take the risk. The best scenario over time is for the federal government to get out of the floodinsurance business altogether. If Sen. Nelson and his colleagues in Washington were governed by the threat of term limits rather than the next election, they might have the courage to do exactly that — end the National Flood Insurance Program. Take a page from the late President Calvin Coolidge. When floods ravaged his home state of Vermont in 1927, Coolidge declined to send his fellow Vermonters any federal aid. Natural-disaster relief, Coolidge believed, was not the job of the federal government. Indeed, here’s proof it’s not: Taxpayers gave the National Flood Insurance Program a $17 billion loan to cover claims after Hurricane Katrina. A few years later, because interest payments were so large, the flood-insurance program had to borrow another $1.7 billion. Seven years later, only $600 million in principal has been repaid. Government officials say they doubt the loan will ever be paid off. Shut down the National Flood Insurance Program and watch how the private sector fills the void. Better and fewer homes will be built on the coasts. A win for taxpayers and the environment. Nazi Germany. However, some politicians, including Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden, attacked the agreement. These critics pointed out that no only had the British government behaved dishonorably, but it had lost the support of Czech Army, one of the best in Europe. Chamberlain told his private secretary: “If Hitler signed it and kept the bargain, well and good … if he broke it, he would demonstrate to all the world that he was totally cynical and untrustworthy … this would have its value mobilizing public opinion against him, particularly in America.” … In March, 1939, the German Army seized the rest of Czechoslovakia. In taking this action, Adolf Hitler had broken the Munich Agreement … … Chamberlain now realized that Adolf Hitler could not be trusted, and his appeasement policy now came to an end. After the invasion of Poland, Chamberlain was forced to declare war on Germany. On the outbreak of the Second World War, public opinion polls showed that Chamberlain’s popularity was 55%. By December, 1939, this had increased to 68%. However, members of the House of Commons saw him as an uninspiring war leader. On May 7, 1940, Leo Amery, the Conservative MP, argued in the House of Commons: “Just as our peace-time system is unsuitable for war conditions, so does it tend to breed peace-time statesmen who are not too well fitted for the conduct of war. Facility in debate, ability to state a case, caution in advancing an unpopular view, compromise and procrastination are the natural qualities — I might almost say, virtues — of a political leader in time of peace. They are fatal qualities in war. “Vision, daring, swiftness and consistency of decision are the very essence of victory.” Looking at Chamberlain, Amery then went on to quote what Oliver Cromwell said to the Long Parliament when he thought it was no longer fit to conduct the affairs of the nation: “You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”