SEASIDE SOCIALISM
Back in 2007 the state of Florida changed the way to insure beach properties and is mentioned at Angry Bear here.
Reuters reports here here and Waters edge crisis.
SEASIDE SOCIALISM
Breakneck development at the shore has trapped Florida in a costly Sisyphean effort to maintain its perpetually eroding beaches. More than a tourist attraction, the beaches protect all those buildings from the waves. Nearly half of Florida’s beachfront is designated under state law as “critically eroding.”
But that designation doesn’t limit further development; instead, it triggers taxpayer subsidies that support the status quo. Since 1990, government “beach renourishment” programs have dumped more than 135 million cubic yards of sand on Florida shores.
The state accounts for about a quarter of the roughly $7 billion spent on sand projects nationwide, in current dollars, according to Andy Coburn, associate director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Federal taxes covered about three quarters of the cost; state and local government paid the rest, minus a small share contributed by private landowners.
Congress this session approved five new sand projects that will require an estimated $400 million in federal help. Among them: Replenishment of the 19-mile stretch of beach that passes Huckabee’s vacation house, with $43 million in federal subsidies.
When I have time I will dig up some information on a similar situation here in North Carolina. My neighbor Rob Young is director for the Institute of Shorline management at WCU. He, along with his mentor Oren Pilkey of Duke, has fought for years over the state’s willingness to continually replace infrastructure that serves the barrier islands, essentially subsidizing wealthy development.
Our Republican legislature revamped property insurance a couple of years ago so the risks associated with beach development were shared across the state, basically a bailout for the 1% who own beachfront mansions and developments.
Just another instance of privatizing profits while socializing losses. Trickle down has always been accrete up in the real world.
OOOOOOOOOO, we need to get that government out of our sand. : )
MJ, be kind, Nags Head brings a wealth of tourism to NC every summer.