As Hurricane Dorian churns through the Bahamas and starts chewing on the Florida coast, a vast number of people are greatly relieved that they are insured through the National Flood Insurance Program.  But even Politico has noticed that this is actually another way that the rich can stick it to the poor. The vast majority of NFIP policy-holders are located on the Texas and Florida coastlines, where hurricanes are a well known hazard.  Owning property near the beach is a pipe dream for mere mortals, with prices in the stratosphere.  A quick glance at Zillow shows an Atlantic Beach, Florida home slightly larger than mine selling for multiples of the value of mine, simply because it's on the beach.  I live fifty miles from the beach on high ground that has never had a recorded flood. Because this home is in a flood area, it has NFIP-subsidized insurance.  For the rest of us plebeians, that means that some of our tax money will...(Read Full Post)