Wealthy Welfare

There are many stories of how people milk the system for personal gain.

People living large, driving luxury cars, with high-end smart phones using food stamps to make extravagant purchases.

These are people that are very resourceful, that have questionable ethics and messed up priorities that will find and exploit a loophole for their own personal gain without a second thought or concern for who’s footing the bill.

These people have no desire to work for what they receive.., in fact they feel as though they are entitled to the gain they receive because society owes them a betterment.

Wikipedia defines Welfare Fraud as: “intentional misuse of state welfare systems by withholding information or giving false or inaccurate information.”

So shouldn’t the same standard apply to Fargo, Cass County, Diversion Authority and the city of Oxbow’s elite?

Since the 2009 flood, Oxbow city mayor James (Jim) Nyhof has bemoaned how terribly flood prone the city of Oxbow, ND is and how they desperately need property tax reductions and county, state and Fargo Diversion Authority funding as relief.

This constant din of being flood prone to solicit public sympathy backfired and directly impacted home sales for several years, creating the public relations limbo that Nyhof and others decry at every opportunity.

Curiously, as of June 30, 2015 reports obtained from FEMA indicate only 3 flood insurance policies in-force, totaling $925,000 in protected property and premiums totaling $2,680.

So how is this possible?

Only 3 properties in Oxbow carry flood insurance but somehow the public relations message is that Oxbow is flood prone and 40 homes must be moved, an entire new golf course, clubhouse and swimming pool must be rebuilt as housing of last resort, which is nothing more than wealthy welfare.

I cannot reiterate enough the significance of the 3 FEMA insured properties.

FEMA flood insurance is either required by federally backed home loans or an independent homeowner acknowledges a risk of flooding and obtains FEMA flood insurance of their own accord.

Either way, only 3 of 102 properties in Oxbow, ND had FEMA flood insurance policies in-force as of June 30, 2015 which suggests the city is not as flood prone as project proponents would lead people to believe.

Think about that…! Around 97 percent of Oxbow, ND exists ABOVE the flood plain threshold requiring flood insurance, yet mayor Nyhof, Fargo Diversion Authority, “mediocre at best” talk show hosts, news stations, newspapers and Cass county officials insist that Oxbow’s current permanent flood protection funded by taypayers is not certifiable for the 97 percent that exist above the threshold requiring said FEMA flood insurance…

Hmmm…

Why would properties above the 100 year flood threshold NEED certifiable 100 year flood protection?

Is the public relations message of certifiable flood protection an intentional misrepresentation?

It raises serious questions on how only 3 properties (view ND FEMA policies) carrying a collective $925,000 in flood insurance with only $2,680 in total annual premiums can be used to justify a $65 million dollar project that as of July 30, 2015 was already over $53.5 million (view expenses), which Fargo Diversion Authority chairman Darrell Vanyo testified is only 25 percent done in front of ND legislators at the Waters Topics Overview Committee on August 12, 2015.

Mr. Vanyo went on to testify that: “…the ring levee that ultimately will provide Oxbow with protection from both natural flood risks..”

Curiously, Mr. Vanyo neglected to impress upon legislators that “natural flood risks” he’s eluding to relate to only a few Oxbow property owners and the balance of the Oxbow, Hickson and Bakke population being forced to live behind the OHB (Oxbow, Hickson, Bakke) ring levee are not presently flood prone and were never given a genuine unfettered ballot vote to determine their future within the proposed dam and staging reservoir.

With less than 60 percent of the population that will be living within the OHB ring levee having received a ballot and those ballots were numbered, which could potentially be used to track how people voted, how can the taxpaying public ever have a chance to reign in a project that will far exceed $100-$120 million, when social pressure from Oxbow’s elite creates a hostile ostracizing environment.

Interesting Fact: Since January 1, 1978 to June 30, 2015 (37.5 years), only 15 FEMA insurance claims were filed in Oxbow, ND for a grand total of $243,127.36 (view Oxbow loss claims) averaging $16,208.49 per claim or roughly $6,483.40 per year.

It would be curious to know if the greatest single recipients of wealthy welfare, none other than the Oxbow Country Club, represents one of the three FEMA flood insurance policies in-force. Either way, why should the taxpayer be on the hook to bailout/buyout a NONPROFIT CORPORATION which is owned by shareholder members that are required to pay annual dues to maintain the very shares that are required to obtain membership.

It’s not that hard to see that much of the Oxbow County Club was poorly designed, with several holes below the 100 year flood level, an aging clubhouse that is not energy efficient and a swimming pool that is less than 75 feet from banks of the Red River.

However, none of these issues should require wealthy welfare to ensure un-interrupted tee times as early as possible in any calendar year.

The Oxbow shareholder, just like any other business, should vote on whether to invest more of their own money into a less flood prone golf course or live with the inconveniences and costs associated with their current investment situation.

Only a self serving imbecile would suggest that a golf course is anything more than an amenity to a community.

So with the final OHB project price tag yet to be determined, which will far exceed the initial $65 million amount falsely presented to the public taxpayers, how much more will taxpayers pony up to ensure that Oxbow’s “elite” receive their wealthy welfare?

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