Student Media of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri

Lindenlink

Student Media of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri

Lindenlink

Student Media of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri

Lindenlink

A storm bombastically overlooked

Jon Holden | Lindenlink Reporter

The blizzard we call Nemo has overtaken the northeastern part of the United States. The untimely blizzard couldn’t have come at a worse time.  Despite what the populous thinks, this blizzard is a big problem.

Six states are in a state of emergency as a result of Nemo.  Now some may ask why this is such a big issue; because, hundreds of thousands are currently out of power 400,000 in Massachusetts alone. Roughly 659,000 have lost power in nine states and not to mention, the other 40 million people who have been affected by the blizzard.

Let’s put this into perspective. The situation is equivalent to driving from Kansas City to St. Louis in two to three feet of snow the whole way.  The state of Rhode Island which has declared a state of emergency is giving out 500 dollar fines to anyone who decides to get in their car and drive.

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Now, aside from the thousands of ACT tests cancelled, the 1,700 flights cancelled, the people of the northeast region of the United States are facing far harder challenges in regards to money and funds.

Nemo was an after effect of tragic hurricane Sandy that struck the northeast last October. Nemo simply compounded the damage already done by Sandy a few months earlier.  The original relief money from the federal government was 80 billion dollars. Now, 21 percent is going to private citizens of the United States. The rest going to new found agencies designed to rebuild and prevent future damage.

I’ll go on the record by saying 21 percent simply isn’t high enough percentage to give everyone their fair share of compensation. When you tack off an additional 20 billion from the original dollar amount dropping it down to 60 billion, you might as well bet the house that trouble is heading your way, or what’s left of it.

Hurricane Katrina exceeded 100 billion with only 34 billion in insured losses recovery and a good chunk going with BP and other oil companies getting their money back first so they could rebuild pipelines to overcharge Americans reasonably instead of the average 6 dollars a gallon which it was after  Katrina. My point is this.

We are running into the exact same situation right now in the Northeast. Instead of being under water,  you have 3 to 6 feet of snow mixed in with below freezing weather conditions. Two-hundred million dollars in insured losses are currently tied up between banks because they need “proof of damage” before they can endorse and release the check. With People not receiving the money they need from the super-storm, the blizzard is now tacking on extra nickels and dimes to the situation inevitably, causing the government to provide more money to its people.

While banks and insurance companies secure their financial business, have their largest quarter of the year, and  have enormous bonuses, innocent people are suffering financially. So when people ask me if this blizzard is a big deal, yes, it’s a huge deal.

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