Barbara opined: "the first $3,000 was forgiven. Now FEMA . . . give[s]out a max of $26,000 grants, and max of $150,000 loans after a disaster to a single household, according to the article. That's an 866% increase in grant money -- quite generous of our government."

It is a little disingenuous to ignore inflation when making a political statement, especially over a period of 35 years! Since the purchasing power of $3000 in 1971 is approximately equal to that of $15000 in 2006, the increase is around 173%, not 866%. And since, in California, housing has increased substantially faster than the CPI in general, the real increase is approximately a doubling in 35 years. One could only conclude that the government was being generous if they were to somehow make the enormously difficult calculations required to determine if the 1971 figure was generous, first. I don't know how one would do that. Since spreading risk, to some degree and within some limits, seems to me a desirable and proper function of government, I see nothing alarming in the figures.

Mike Williams in Arroyo Grande, CA