Comic Relief 2006 bitchfest.

Has anyone seen this comedic show to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina? I think it aired about 2 weeks ago on HBO. It was pretty funny, yet very sad at the same time, as they showed a lot of images and spoke with a lot of people effected by Katrina. One of the major themes of the show was to raise money not just to help re-build, but over and over again, they kept saying the money was needed to bring the people back, to bring businesses back, so the economy will raise. Well let me just say this, when it comes to the after effects of Katrina, and living in Louisiana, almost everyone is blind! This includes, celebs, the government, FEMA, and most businesses. While our purchase of a mere $285,000 house may not help the economy re-build much, people need to take into consideration that in order to come here and buy a house, you need homeowner's insurance - which since Katrina, is absolutely freaken ridiculous! Pretty much all the MAJOR insurance companies have stopped writing policies for several parts of New Orleans. We have found only 2 plans to chose from. One is the state plan, which as of 1/1/07, will be increasing 30%, the other plan we found is Republic, and they are charging an arm, a leg, and all of your children and your children's children. It's totally insane. How do they expect people to return here if no one can afford the insurance. And let me just state that the quote we got through both plans, DIDN'T EVEN INCLUDE FLOOD INSURANCE, just your standard homeowner's policy, along with wind and hail. The state plan which will increase 30% next year was roughly $4000 plus $1000 for flood, which will go from $4000 to $5200 next year. The other plan is also insanely priced at nearly $5000 for homeowner's and an additional $1100 for flood. Now I understand a lot of companies lost their ass when Katrina hit, but the house we are buying had no damage from the hurricane as it hadn't even been hit, but due to the hurricane, practically everything down here is listed as being in or near a flood zone. We came from living in northern Nevada and only paying $600 a year for homeowner's, and now we are looking at paying $500 a month. Trust me when I say, I'm not really a tight-wad. I love spending money, and would rather spend more money if it's for a better item, than buy the cheap thing. Ruben and I have this "thing", we no longer settle. After years of getting the cell phone that has a deal on it, or the cheaper printer, or what-ever it is that not quite a year later we are kicking ourselves in the ass for not buying the best, we've decided no-more. We ultimately buy the best to begin with so no more being mad later when something better comes along. So of course we want better insurance, and luckily Ruben is in a position we CAN afford it, we just have to play around with our finances, and maybe not give in to doing the impulse buying thing. With the cost of insurance, we will definitely have to eat more dinners in that what we currently do. But my complaint is for those don't earn a big salary. They'll never afford it, and it's horribly ridiculous. I have to say that besides the cost for gasoline, I honestly believe that the government should step in and try to mandate some of these costs, so regular 'ol Joe's don't get ass raped by these bullies. How else will New Orleans ever be the same?
It's definitely time to do a cost of living survey, and increase everyone's pay up to meet that of the area. otherwise, say goodbye to New Orleans and to Mardi Gras.