美国国家公共电台 NPR How Federal Disaster Money Favors The Rich

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

The U.S. government spends billions of dollars each year helping¹ households recover after disasters such as the tornadoes² this past Sunday in Alabama. Who gets that federal aid is always a big question after natural disasters. An NPR investigation³ out today finds federal disaster aid does not always go to those who need it most, instead favoring two groups - white Americans and people who already have safety nets.

NPR's Rebecca Hersher takes us to Houston with this story of two families who lost everything.

REBECCA HERSHER, BYLINE⁴: The two families are the Papadopouloses.

JOHN PAPADOPOULOS: OK - John Papadopoulos, and I live on 10723 - well, lived - right? - yeah - 10723 Bayou Glen Road.

HERSHER: John is a family guy - two kids, a wife, works at Microsoft. The second family is the Evans family. Janice Perry-Evans has three kids, works at the post office.

JANICE PERRY-EVANS: I love my job. I'm one of them people that - them rare people that love their job (laughter). You know, sometimes we make people day.

HERSHER: Janice and her family rent a house on the east side. John and his wife own their house on the west side. They bought it back in 2007. And within a couple years, the floods began.

PAPADOPOULOS: So our house - yeah, so we flooded four times in a decade. So our house flooded in '09 and then 2015 and 2016.

HERSHER: And then the big one, August 2017.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED NEWSCASTER: Good morning, everyone. Let's get straight to the breaking news - Harvey provoking an unfolding flooding disaster in America's fourth largest city, Houston, Texas.

HERSHER: The morning the storm arrived, both families woke up to more than a foot of water in the house. John and his wife carried their sleepy children to a neighbor's house. They eventually went to a hotel. Janice's family waded⁵ through chest-deep water until they were rescued by a dump truck. They ended up at the convention center downtown. Both of their homes were destroyed.

PAPADOPOULOS: My house was - it just looked like a washing machine inside. I mean, we lost 99 percent of everything.

PERRY-EVANS: If you guys had seen what the neighborhood looked like, we lost all that in just one day. We lost everything.

HERSHER: And when families lose everything in disasters, they turn to the federal government for financial help. But when the Evans and Papadopoulos families started applying for federal aid, they had radically⁶ different experiences, experiences that are emblematic⁷ of a trend - widening inequality after disasters exacerbated⁸ by federal disaster spending. We'll start with the Papadopoulos family. Right away, a lot of things went right for them. John's job was really helpful.

PAPADOPOULOS: I didn't have to use any time off. Technically⁹ my manager was like, don't even worry about it, man. Just take care. We got you.

HERSHER: With John's wages secure, they turned their attention to applying for federal money. First they applied¹⁰ online for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA. FEMA gives grants. The money doesn't have to be paid back. The Papadopoulos family got $30,000 because they owned a home that had been destroyed. The second place they applied was the SBA, the Small Business Administration.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: In the wake of a disaster, SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private nonprofit organizations.

HERSHER: The Papadopoulos family got a $25,000 low-interest loan. A few weeks after the flood, the family moved into a temporary rental¹¹ house. But there was still the question of what to do with the flood house, as their 6-year-old calls it - repair it, sell it.

PAPADOPOULOS: I ain't touched the house for months. I just left it there full - the whole bit. That water sat in there for two weeks. I'm not bringing kids into it. The heavy metals alone - you're not going to Febreze or bleach¹² them out of that wood. (Laughter) I don't care what you think.

HERSHER: In the end, the money from FEMA helped them pay to knock the house down. And there is one more longer-term way that FEMA could help. The family has applied for a buyout. They want the federal government to buy their empty lot and turn it permanently¹³ into open space.

So you still own the lot.

PAPADOPOULOS: I do.

HERSHER: The local flood control district says it's likely that properties like theirs will get offered buyouts eventually if the owners can wait until the money is available, which could take years. But the Papadopoulos family can wait. They're doing OK financially. They're looking for a new house to buy.

Meanwhile, the Evans family has had a totally different experience. For the first few days after the storm, the family slept at the convention center. And as the relief at surviving wore off, Janice had one big concern.

PERRY-EVANS: My main thing was, I had nowhere to lay these - put these kids to lay their head. That bothered me so much.

HERSHER: So when her co-worker offered a spare room, she took it even though it was one room for the whole family, even though when she put food in the refrigerator, it disappeared somehow. Even though it was a 45-minute drive from her kids' school and from her work and her car had been destroyed in the flood, she took the room because she felt like she had nowhere else to go. And then, like the Papadopoulos family had, she started asking the government for help.

PERRY-EVANS: I applied for everything, and they gave me - the first time, they gave me $2,666 to get somewhere to live.

HERSHER: Two thousand six-hundred-sixty-six dollars specifically for housing. In Houston, it would have been enough to cover a deposit and first month's rent on a new place. But Janice needed that money for something else.

PERRY-EVANS: I had to go to work, and I had to get the boys back and forth¹⁴ to school. So I took that and put it for a car.

HERSHER: She used the money for a car. And then with her immediate¹⁵ transportation under control, she called FEMA back to see about applying for more money for housing and got reprimanded.

PERRY-EVANS: When I talked to one of the representatives, that's what they told me. They - some of them was kind of rude. Some of them felt sorry for me 'cause I would be crying. I would be crying about, hey, I have nowhere to go. I don't have no money. You guys - you're not helping me like I thought I was going to get the help that I was going to get.

HERSHER: FEMA gives grants for specific uses so it can keep track of who's been paid for what. That money was supposed to be for housing. The system was too rigid¹⁶ to handle Janice using it for something else. FEMA didn't bar her from reapplying for housing money. But after the scolding, she did not reapply. And this entire time, Janice never missed a shift at the post office. Often she worked six days a week. But her paycheck just wasn't cutting it, and her co-worker said the family needed to move out. So she applied for a low-interest SBA loan.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: SBA will conduct a credit check before scheduling an onsite inspection¹⁷ to determine your total verified losses.

HERSHER: Janice says when they checked her credit score, it was too low. She didn't qualify. Time was running out. A FEMA representative suggested she see about getting help from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which required using her day off to go to an informational class. But she says she didn't qualify for that either because her income was too high.

PERRY-EVANS: It was like every time I tried something, it was an obstacle in the way.

HERSHER: Six months after the flood, Janice did the only thing she felt she could. She moved into a rental house that's more expensive than her old place and smaller. And the Evans family is not alone.

KATHY PAYTON: Recovery for vulnerable families look a lot different than it does for more affluent¹⁸ neighborhoods.

HERSHER: Kathy Payton is the executive director of the Fifth Ward¹⁹ Community Redevelopment Corporation in East Houston just a couple miles from where Janice lives. She says she's watched low-income families struggle to apply for federal aid because of all of the barriers that Janice ran into and more.

PAYTON: They don't always have all the paperwork. They don't always have a tax return. They don't always have the last two pay stubs. They don't always have driver's license²⁰. They don't always have all of these things.

HERSHER: As a result, Payton says she's watched richer, whiter parts of Houston recover more quickly. Private insurance accounts for some of that, but she thinks it's also because they were more successful at getting federal money. And national research backs that up. Junia Howell is a sociologist²¹ at the University of Pittsburgh. Howell is one of a handful of researchers who are taking a close look at who gets public money after disasters and who doesn't. And a pattern is emerging. After disasters, rich people get richer, and poor people get poorer, especially when the federal government steps in.

JUNIA HOWELL: We see these same patterns of wealth inequality being exacerbated in communities that receive more FEMA aid. But that's particularly true along racial lines, along lines of education as well as home ownership versus²² renting.

HERSHER: Richer people, white people - they're more likely to be homeowners. And those same people are more likely to get aid after a disaster in part because of programs like buyouts that specifically help homeowners who have lost their houses. Poorer people, people of color, people who are more likely to rent, people arguably who need cash the most after a major disaster are less likely to get it from the federal government.

NPR analyzed²³ more than 40,000 FEMA records from one federal disaster aid program, home buyouts, like the one the Papadopoulos family are hoping to get and the one the Evans family doesn't qualify for. We found that most of them were in neighborhoods where the population was more than 85 percent white. David Maurstad runs the buyout program for FEMA and says it's working as designed. He says every potential buyout is assessed using the same basic criteria²⁴.

DAVID MAURSTAD: Buyouts have to be technically feasible. They have to be cost-effective. They need to be aligned²⁵ with providing risk reduction for the community.

HERSHER: Last year, Congress agreed to increase FEMA's funding for so-called risk reduction, but it's largely up to local governments how to use that money - for example, to build floodwalls, update drainage.

MAURSTAD: I think a general conclusion would be there will be more buyouts, but I guess that's what - you know, we'll see how that unfolds in the future.

HERSHER: Sociologist Junia Howell says that trend is a wake-up call.

HOWELL: It - it's disturbing - like, deeply disturbing that we are spending billions of dollars a year, and those billions of dollars are adding to our inequality and, to me, calls for a deep reinvestigation into FEMA aid.

HERSHER: If inequality is being exacerbated a little bit now, she says, it will be exacerbated a lot more in the future. Climate change is driving more extreme rain in most of the country, which means more and more flood risk, which could mean more families like John's and Janice's. Take John. Within a year after the flood, his family was fine.

PAPADOPOULOS: I still got money in my pocket, you know? I'm not looking for a bunch of the handout²⁶ stuff. I had some. I didn't like it, (laughter) really.

HERSHER: It being specifically federal disaster aid. When he looks at all the federal help his family has gotten since the storm, he is grateful and a little uncomfortable because he knows that other families have not gotten the same leg up, families like the Evans.

PERRY-EVANS: So it's a struggle now. It's really a struggle now to stay afloat. I went to a bankruptcy²⁷ lawyer, and I paid him to pay - now I'm going to go ahead and file bankruptcy and get rid of some of this debt.

HERSHER: If the storm hadn't happened, do you think you'd be facing bankruptcy?

PERRY-EVANS: No 'cause it wasn't that bad.

HERSHER: It's not just the storm itself. It's everything that's happened since - the higher rent, the new car payment, the hours and hours spent filling out applications for money, most of which, it turned out, wasn't meant for families like hers. And Janice's job as a mail carrier means she sees a lot of other neighborhoods. She's watched other areas, other families recover more quickly.

PERRY-EVANS: And that's where the money went to - to out there, rich people. It's not fair, but, you know, that's just how America is. It's not right. But most of the time, white people get the advantage before we do anyway. So it's like, we already know (laughter). That's just how it work.

HERSHER: If she'd gotten more money, she says, she would have moved, bought a house on higher ground. Rebecca Hersher, NPR News.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

6 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

7 emblematic   

adj.象征的，可当标志的；象征性

参考例句：

• The violence is emblematic of what is happening in our inner cities. 这种暴力行为正标示了我们市中心贫民区的状况。
• Whiteness is emblematic of purity. 白色是纯洁的象征。 来自辞典例句

8 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

11 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

12 bleach   

vt.使漂白；vi.变白；n.漂白剂

参考例句：

• These products don't bleach the hair.这些产品不会使头发变白。
• Did you bleach this tablecloth?你把这块桌布漂白了吗？

13 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

14 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

15 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

16 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

17 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

18 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

19 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

20 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

21 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

22 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

23 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

25 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

26 handout   

n.散发的文字材料；救济品

参考例句：

• I read the handout carefully.我仔细看了这份分发的资料。
• His job was distributing handout at the street-corner.他的工作是在街头发传单。

27 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。