The owners of this and more than 200 nearby homes in Colorado Springs have applies for federal bailouts because their homes are being destroyed by collapsing soil that is part of an ancient and massive landslide area. Geologists have warned the city and developers about the problems before the homes were built, and insurance won t cover the damage. (The Denver Post)
Re: Warnings did not stop development in Colorado Springs’ landslide zone, April 24 news story.
Scientists bad! Don t listen to geologists! Government bad! Don t enforce building codes! Private developers good! Private insurance good! Oh, no! My house is collapsing like the geologists said it would! City code enforcement could have prevented it! Insurance won t cover it! Help, federal government, bail me out!
That sums up the attitude in Colorado Springs pretty well, doesn t it?
Color me appalled. As a taxpayer, I don t want one cent of my money going toward this bailout. The developers, the city and the buyers had access to the data and expert advice they needed to avoid this catastrophe. They chose profit and ideology over science and common sense. Now they need to pull themselves up by those good old bootstraps and deal with the consequences of their bad choices. They could use private enterprise such as GoFundMe. But they are not deserving of a government handout.
Joan Jacobson, Lakewood
This letter was published in the May 1 edition.Each time I read about homeowners asking for government bailouts I cringe. Apparently the folks in Colorado Springs who bought homes in the foothills wanted the beautiful views and private developers were willing to provide them. Shouldn t the responsibility lie with the involved parties and not the rest of us? Why should I be asked to subsidize the decisions of often well-to-do individuals who choose to live in risky areas: flood zones, earthquake-prone areas, areas at high risk of rockslides or forest fires, etc.? It is not the role of government to bail us out from risky decisions we make freely.
Kent Kirkpatrick, Broomfield
This letter was published in the May 1 edition.
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