disaster mitigation

a·me·lio·rate/əˈmēlyəˌrāt/

Verb: Make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better.

mit·i·gate/ˈmitəˌgāt/Verb

1. Make less severe, serious, or painful: "he wanted to mitigate misery in the world".

2. Lessen the gravity of (an offense or mistake).

These are the first definitions you get when you Google the words.

Joplin, MO.

Mississippi flood zones.

South Florida.

i happen to live in South Florida and tend to think i'm not the only one who thinks the following way.. "What happened in Joplin will happen elsewhere, only worse. I wonder what will happen when we cannot cope with disasters as they happen, will we simply abandon those communities, write them off as a loss? Why are people so stupid to build in a known flood zone? Should we rescue communities that stupid? South Florida is known as 'hurricane alley' for a good reason. The lull in hurricanes recently is only exactly that: a brief time when they aren't hammering us. Aren't we just as stupid as those people who build on a flood zone? Sure, we have warning but to continually rebuild after hurricane after hurricane.. Can we really afford it? Do we put money where we need to in order to stay here?"

i'm an unemployed telephone technician easily retrainable to do power system maintenance / rebuilding. i've tried to get hired by FPL but perhaps my 'bad credit' is keeping me from working there? When i applied to be a FEMA inspector, this was the only stickler. Considering how badly we need power system maintenance/rebuilding technicians down here in South Florida, you would think there would be a government program to help me get retrained, regardless of my credit history. i've looked into it .. Another good idea but not found in reality. i've studied the FEMA guidelines and am perhaps one of the few who've completed all online coursework but was informed recently that the Feds (or primary contractors of the Feds) won't employ people who have debts they're not paying on.. i don't have a job. How can i repay any debts? It's a ridiculous catch-22 of our system .. Monster just sent me an email about a good technician job that offers training but at the end of the ad: "..as well as good credit history." Counts me out. i guess they can afford to be picky/choosy at this time..

i think i'd make an excellent FEMA inspector or manager of inspectors but i can't get the job because of bad credit. i'd also make an excellent FPL technician 'in reserve' for rebuilding after the next hurricane, which will happen. It's only a matter of time. i've never gotten a positive reply from FPL or any of their contractors. i'm confident i'm not the only one in this situation.

Not that anybody's asking but if you want my advice, we're allocating money in the wrong directions. Republicans talk about Fed over-spending.. Personally, i don't think we're spending enough in the right directions. We need to establish broad subsidized retraining programs for markets we know there will be future need (such as utility rebuilding) .. Our wonderful president has stated our infrastructure is in need of repair/rebuilding .. i don't see the programs 'bridging the gap' between need and retraining our workforce to satisfy that need. Where are the retraining programs? i don't see any in South Florida.

Another way of looking at the first paragraph above is: we here in South Florida expect other areas, not hit by disasters, to pay for our infrastructure rebuilding after a hurricane. Isn't this essentially what's happening? Why do we deserve this 'bail out'? Cuz we're stupid and live in hurricane alley? i have no great love of South Florida .. i'm basically an immigrant from Michigan. If the Feds someday say "We can't afford to keep rebuilding South Florida.", i'll be happy to pack my bags and move back up north. Good riddance..

But while i'm here, shouldn't i try to do my part at ameliorating disasters? At mitigating the effects of the next hurricane? Where's the missing part of the jigsaw? If i can't afford to pay my debts, how can i afford retraining? i'm not the only one in this situation..

We need to relax our hiring policies about bad credit. Our strict hiring policies are only keeping the unemployment rate high.. We need to subsidize utility restoration retraining programs.. i would go so far to say: "We need to subsidize critical need programs such as nursing." Why not? Nurses are the backbone of the health sector.. Without them, our healthcare system would collapse. So again, we're not spending money in the right directions in America. If we care about quality healthcare, we need to allocate accordingly. If we care about infrastructure rebuilding, we need to spend money accordingly.

.. i love the fact i live in a time when: we put a man on the moon, we elected the first black president, and we may 'solve the riddle of creation' .. We're so close to becoming a true space-faring civilization .. If we'd only allocate resources to what we say we care about; or, "put our money where our mouth is." Please?