N002309
Tuesday, January 22, 2002 5:12 PM
Victims Compensation
Dear Mr. Feinberg,
Thank you for taking on the difficult task of paying the victims compensation for those who lost someone on 9/11/01. I personally did not lose anyone, nor did I know anyone who died.
The compensation figures that I have seen quoted in the press seem to be very generous, and I don't think anyone can disagree with them. For most ordinary Americans, a payment of a million dollars or more at the death of a loved one is beyond belief. I understand that the deaths of the victims left many families suspended for a time, without a source of income and without a death certificate to obtain other benefits. Social Security has paid claims for thousands of individuals already, and those people are receiving monthly checks which will continue in many cases, for years to come. I have also read and seen on TV that some family members feel the amount that is being offered is not enough. No amount will bring that person back, but for most people, a payout of a million dollars would payoff the mortgage, buy a car and buy two college educations-this is in addition to Social Security, workers compensation, etc. I think of a friend of mine when I hear people complaining about not getting enough. My friend's husband was self employed and did not have a large life insurance policy when he died. She was also left without a spouse, but without a million dollars to payoff her mortgage, educate her children, etc. She has worked hard to accomplish all of those American dreams herself, with Social Security her only help from the American taxpayers. I am not sure that the people clamoring for more money realize that the money comes from the pockets of all of us-including my friend, the widow, who did not get any helping hand when her husband died unexpectedly. I think you also have to be very careful when defining a family member-perhaps you should use Social Security's standards? Common law relationships should be recognized only in those states where they constitute a valid marriage, and people should have to present tax returns, etc to show that the deceased considered himself/herself to be married. What happened was a terrible tragedy for all of us, but we also need to remember that thousands of other people died that day and on subsequent days, and some of them died just as horribly. So, the formula that has been proposed appears to me to be very generous, especially when you consider again that for most Americans the amount proposed is an amount that they never would have thought they would receive at the time their spouse/parent died. I understand that for individuals who were earning a large income, the amount proposed may seem small, and if they purchased life insurance policies which will pay their families more than the proposed compensation, there will be nothing. Those who have large life insurance policies will, however, receive exactly what they anticipated they would receive if their family member died, and the surviving family members should be thankful their loved one was able to provide so well for them.
I want to close by telling you that I can't believe how generous all Americans have been-from those who gave blood, those who worked at the scenes, those who picked up the workload in various communities so that rescue workers could go to New York and Somerset County to help search, and how many people opened their hearts and their wallets to help their fellow citizens. I think we can all be proud of each other.
Individual Comment