dojN001626.xml

dojN001626.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2002-01-15

Tuesday, January 15, 2002 12:03 PM
Victim Compensation Concern

To Whom it May Concern:
As the of the I have been working with the 22 families in our area who were directly impacted by the World Trade Center attack.
It is misleading of the government to continue to say that the average family will receive $1.6 million dollars when in fact most of the families in our area will receive nothing! Once again, our government is awarding people who are not responsible. Those families that did not live above their means, who took out life insurance policies, who were older and had pensions and annuities will lose considerable, if not all, of the amounts awarded. For many of these individuals even deciding to sue the government is not an option.
The government is proposing to do what many nonprofit funding agencies do and that is "deficit funding". We take care of those, who on the surface, can not take care of themselves, but in reality did not attempt to save and look at the future. The individuals who have lived well beyond their means;who had no life insurance; and lived a wonderful lifestyle will be given the most, and the responsible ones will be penalized.
This is very much like the families who save for their children's college tuition and then are told they have too much money to qualify for any types of grants or financial aid. The families that took the extravagant vacations and have multiple cars, and big houses can't afford school and then get assistance!
The government, whether right or wrong, made an offer to these families. If they are having second thoughts at this offer and attempting to lower the amount awarded, then this is not the way to do it. Hurting responsible and most often older women is what is going to happen. When an accident happens, and a settlement award is offered, then there should be no stipulations on who should receive that award. Your criteria is wrong. This needs to be modified.
If you need statistics on what percentage of individuals would be hurt and how many would be actually helped I would suggest you contact the local United Ways who are directly involved with these families. We have the information you need, but as with most instances, we are the last to be asked.
Good luck,
Individual Comment
Montclair, NJ

2002-01-15