Job counselor Ayodele Ogunye of WorkSource, the city’s employment assistance program, said jobless evacuees complain about the overwhelming bus and rail systems that make navigation difficult, or the bureaucratic holdups like professional licenses that are invalid in Texas.
But some of it, Ogunye said, is in their heads. Ogunye said “one does begin to wonder” why so many are still jobless after 10 months. Fellow counselor Melodie Lee was more blunt: “(Katrina) was awful, but let’s move on. It is time you had a Plan B.”
When the bureaucrats whose job it is to help these people start talking like that, instead of trying to find more ways to expand their “empire of entitlement” it’s a clear sign that Houston is tired of its ne’er-do-well “guests”. Considering that my work drive takes me past job-hunting people standing on street corners who were willing to illegally travel across the border (then hundreds of miles on foot) or pay smugglers to bring them here, my sympathy for people willing to walk past help wanted signs to complain that they can’t find any job is somewhat lacking. As is my caring for people who ignore deadlines and are rewarded with more money.
FEMA says thousands of evacuee families received letters informing them about the recertification requirements, but only about 10-percent responded. The agency feared that almost 30,000 evacuees would have to be recertified at the end of August, but because of the extended deadline, that’s no longer the case.
It’s not like no one would take advantage of our generosity if FEMA wants to keep spending the money to keep these useless drones in Houston.
[Houston’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Housing, John] Walsh said the major challenge has been the unexpected number of people who signed up for the program.
“When we started this in September we estimated we would do 10,000 units,” he said. “By the first of October we said it would be 15,000 units. By early November it was more like 30,000 units. We’ve been having to adjust to a much bigger volume than we ever dreamed we would have to do.” — Houston Chronicle, 12/29/05
How much will the city of Houston have to spend in employee salaries to handle Katrina evacuee rent applications and payments? We know that some of our new residents are taking a toll on our (already depleted) police force. And I recall hearing (maybe on a KTRH newsbreak or from Chris Baker) that the vast majority of new applications (in the waning days of the “free” rent and utilities program) were from Katrina evacuees who had been in Houston for three days or less. They hustled down here from wherever they were to get in on the action!
I suppose if they hadn’t extended it, some judge would have forced them to. There’s always some people with more sympathy than sense. As long as it’s our money they’re giving away, anyhow.
Oh well, as long as our new neighbors understand that no one is above the law in Houston, I’m sure they (and our tax money) will get along just fine.