Trent Lott’s Flood Abuse

Last October, I wrote about Senator Trent Lott’s threats to the insurance industry of punitive legislation as pressure to pay him off for the uninsured loss of his beachfront house to Hurricane Katrina.

Irresponsible building in flood zones is subsidized by everyone else, and everyone else is supposed to be shocked and pay after every flood to maintain the homeowners’ irresponsible choice to have a luxury water view.

Today’s Wall Street Journal recounts the crusade by Senator Lott to introduce punitive legislation. He, also, rounded up fellow Mississippi lawyers and politicians to launch lawsuits. State Farm caved to political extortion, and will pay off Trent Lott.

The result, for those Mississippians without Trent Lott’s position and friends:

Lost among all the politicians' war-whooping over the State Farm capitulation, is the effect this extortion has had on the private insurance industry. In recent weeks companies from State Farm to AllState have stopped writing policies in parts of Mississippi, which will result in consumers having fewer insurance choices, if they can find insurance at all.

Ah, but never fear: Washington has a solution for that, too. In the face of insurers exiting his state (in no small part because of the actions of politicians), Mr. Taylor [an ally of Lott’s] earlier this month introduced yet another piece of insurance legislation. This one would expand the national flood insurance program to cover other hurricane-related damage. In other words, the Mississippian wants to create a new federal disaster insurance program that will put taxpayers--rather than private insurers--on the hook next time a storm hits. Revenge is a scary thing.

The federal flood insurance program has already paid out six times as much as collected in premiums. Lott and buddies want taxpayers without a view to see many billions more of their taxes go into their pockets and those of wealthy or irresponsible others who knowingly build in known danger zones.

This goes beyond "pork" to sheer personal pigging out at the public's expense.