N001522
Friday, January 11, 2002 12:51 PM
REALITY CHECK
I am very bothered by what I perceive as greedy people when it comes to
distribution of funds to the victims of Sep 11th.
The U.S. Government had to bail out the airlines to keep them from all going
bankrupt. This was a necessary action as the transportation industry
touches all of us either directly or indirectly. Their collapse would have
been catastrophic for all of us economically.
Why did the Government set up a fund for the victims of 9/11? From what I
understand, it is to prevent individuals from filing separate lawsuits
against the either the Government or the airlines. I believe that was a
prudent move by the President and Congress.
The unprecedented outpouring of generosity by all Americans, the efforts of
charity organizations, and this Government fund more than adequately provide
for the families of the victims.
I realize that this is a terrible period for those who lost loved ones, but
I believe that this type of quibbling about money can only have a negative
impact on everyone. Is there anyone who really believes that any American
or American organization/business wished this on anyone, or that they were
deliberately negligent, and that their actions led to these attacks? I
don't think so. So what's the purpose in pursuing individual lawsuits
against anyone; it will only force the airlines to go under and the victims
won't get their money then anyway. We will then be in worse economic shape
than we are now. Everyone will suffer.
There is no way for distribution of these funds to be totally fair in the
eyes of everyone. That's just the way it is.
I am a U.S. Marine. If I were killed in ground combat in Afghanistan, my
wife and three children would receive $250,000.00 in life insurance that I
paid for, and a couple thousand for burial expenses . If they happened to
live on a military base at the time of my death, they would have 30 days to
move out. There is no private fund set up for my family, no automatic
college fund for my kids. Does that seem fair - not to me, but that's just
the way it is.
Let's no let the lawyers drive the train on this. We all need to take a
step back, and GET REAL.
Individual Comment
Quantico, VA