Bad apple evacuees could make donors feel rotten

Katrina evacuees report they’ve been treated suspiciously in certain host cities, as if they’re prone to spontaneous looting. Then there are the unfortunate headlines about what some evacuees are doing with their relief money: Debit cards from the Red Cross reportedly have been used to buy $800 Louis Vuitton handbags and a PlayStation in Atlanta, jewelry and a TV with DVD in Illinois, and more. A Red Cross representative told the New York Daily News that the only no-nos for the cards are alcohol, tobacco or firearms. “Once they’re out of our hands, there’s nothing we can do,” she said.
Maybe so, but Americans’ generosity to private groups may dry up fast if more such stories emerge.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

8 Comments

  1. Jed
    Posted September 20, 2005 at 5:30 am | Permalink

    Stories like that come out of the woodwork any time somebody needs help. Remember all that flap about “welfare Cadillacs?” Yeah, I’ve seen a couple of those- they were 20 years old, burning more oil than Saddam in Kuwait, and the right front fender was a different color.All the stories are meant to be excuses for not doing anything when others need help. Spread those tales, and you may get to hear them again when YOU need help!

  2. Steven E.
    Posted September 20, 2005 at 6:28 am | Permalink

    I agree with Jed; you have to wonder how many of these stories are Reganesque urban legends.

  3. Damoon
    Posted September 20, 2005 at 7:45 am | Permalink

    How many times have we seen that fools and their money soon part? Of course when you just hand people money, some of it will be spent in silly ways. It’s probably the same few who were looting at the liquor stores.

  4. Joe Williams
    Posted September 20, 2005 at 8:58 am | Permalink

    I know they have busted quite a few people who have scammed the system and getting Katrina fund money. This is not urban legend.

    They were talking about it on NPR yesterday.

    Good thing is that they are busting the scammers pretty quickly.

  5. Jed
    Posted September 20, 2005 at 10:19 am | Permalink

    Hey Damoon,You don’t need to go to New Orleans to see people spend money in silly ways; just look over any federal, state or local budget.

  6. Trell
    Posted September 20, 2005 at 2:17 pm | Permalink

    Handouts = waste and abuse at all levels of society, business, organizations, and government. It’s human nature. None of us is immune.

  7. Damoon
    Posted September 21, 2005 at 10:50 am | Permalink

    So true Jed! Government is where the act of wasting money is most efficient!!

  8. Damoon
    Posted September 21, 2005 at 8:43 pm | Permalink

    So true, Trell. Nothing is so seductive as easy money.