Bad for Taxpayers and Whales | Mark A. Calabria | Cato Institute: Commentary

Bad for Taxpayers and Whales | Mark A. Calabria | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'The destruction of Gulf Coast wetlands, which had acted as a buffer from hurricanes, magnified the impact of Hurricane Katrina. We can debate the role of Washington in protecting the environment, but at a minimum we can all agree we should not be actively subsidizing its destruction with tax dollars.

The flood insurance program not only places the environment in harm's way, but does the same to the very people it attempts to benefit. By under-pricing flood risk, the program makes it cheaper to live in a flood plain than it would be otherwise. Unquestionably, that distortion gives families who would not have done so an incentive to live in the path of a potential flood.'