Federal Flood I*nsurance: Yet another Taxpayer Rip-off

This is my first blog posting as the new CEO of the Rio Grande Foundation. I really look forward to getting out to Albuquerque — I am finishing up my last few weeks with National Taxpayers Union here in the DC area — and putting my full-time effort into getting the messages of free markets and individual freedom out in a state that badly needs them. On Thursday, February 2nd, I had the opportunity to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on a boondoggle of a federal program, the National Flood I*nsurance Program.
The flood i*nsurance program has been around since 1968 and has been subsidized by taxpayers ever since. Now, in the wake of the hurricanes of recent years, taxpayers are on the hook for $24 billion. This program should never have been created and I argued for repeal in my testimony, but repeal is unlikely given Congress’s lack of willpower. Spurred by bad publicity and massive losses, however, Congress may finally pass some needed reforms to the program. We’ll see.