W000065
Tuesday, November 06, 2001 1:07 PM
Compassion and Common Sense-Sept.11 Victim Compensation
Thank-you for the opportunity to comment on the compensation debate.
PLEASE do what you can to keep the money out of trial lawyer's hands! Let's
not let this become another lawyer-enrichment program like what the tobacco
"settlement" became! If compensation is handled justly there shouldn't be
any need for them.
I'm hoping that common sense prevails and that the primary victims (those
physically injured in the event and the immediate families of those that
died) are compensated to a reasonable extent and any money left over goes to
rebuilding the city and into a fund comprised of a large chunk of money for
future troubles that WILL be surfacing, it's only a matter of time, due to
the toxic work environment at the site. I've smelled the air there and it's
not good. From what I understand the masks are difficult to wear for any
real length of time and are not being utilized as they should be. (I can
hear it now "It's your fault-you should have worn the mask provided to you",
"No it's your fault for not providing me with a good quality, reasonably
comfortable, mask that doesn't make you feel like you're suffocating!").
Also, I feel STRONGLY that the American Red Cross should be handing over ALL
monies it has collected on behalf of the victims of the attacks. Again, any
"surplus", anything in excess of reasonable handouts, should be given to NYC
(as I'm sure the U.S. government will already to paying for repairs to the
Pentagon) - and complete accountabilty needs to be required. Anyone in
charge of doling out money should be able to account for every penny when
all is said and done. I also feel that everyone who claims to be a victim
should have a social worker-type person assigned to them-someone with
compassion and lots of common sense. The money spent on that would be worth
it. Someone who will get to know the families and be able to evaluate their
specific situations and recommend fair compensation. Every case will be
slightly different. And known victims who have not had family come forward
should also have a social worker assigned in case the immediate family is
either too traumatized to step forward or just isn't sure how to proceed.
Those case workers should quickly ascertain whether or not immediate funds
need to be made available to any families. A quick $50,000 pay-out should
probably be given to any family who has had to bury someone or has had
someone in a hospital. The finer calculations can be done later. That same
case-worker would also be valuable in any claim disputes within the
families.
There is a huge risk of abuse here and if it comes out later that
undeserving people and/or businesses were beneficiaries of any of the money,
potential future donors will be turned off and all the heart-felt donating
will have a long-term negative impact.
I feel bad for people laid off and relocated, but such is life. There are
no guarantees in life. I've been laid off twice and forced to live on the
ridiculously low unemployment benefits for a time and I survived. I was
broke and traumatized, but I survived. Should I have sued the executives of
the company for the mis-management that led the company to liquidating (in
one case)? Government "awards" should not an automatic thing. This isn't
some kind of lottery. If the victims are able to get sufficient funds from
donation programs then less taxpayer money will be needed to get them back
on their feet (as well as possible). If taxpayers pay AND donation programs
pay then in reality the taxpayers are getting hit twice, since I imagine
that the donations are tax-deductible. Perhaps that's the stance that
politicians need to take to avoid looking like scrooges. Heaven knows that
taxpayer money will be needed for a few other things going on these
days...............
Best to all of you,
Individual Comment
Danbury, CT