04x28 - National Flood Insurance Program

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John: welcome,

Welcome, welcome

To "last week tonight."

I'm john oliver.

Thank you so much

For joining us.

And we begin tonight

With president trump,

The person who most deserves

To look like that.

And I know, right now, all

Anyone can think about is the

Reported indictments coming from

Robert mueller.

Please let it be jared.

Please let it be jared.

Please let it be jared.

But a lot happened this week

Before that, including trump

Addressing america's

Opioid crisis, which claims 140

Lives every day or, as one

Newscaster put it...

Good evening.

I'm anthony mason.

And by the time this broadcast

Is over, three people will be

Dead.

John: holy shit!

The only thing creepier than

That is if he specifically

Named who those people are.

"Three people will be dead:

Jason kohler of waltham,

Massachusetts; diane forant

Of spokane, washington;

And you."

Combating america's opioid

Crisis was one of trump's

Central campaign promises.

But I have to say, a lot of his

Solutions were underwhelming,

Including one of the key

Announcements on thursday.

It's really, really easy

Not to take 'em.

And I think that's going

To end up being our most

Important thing.

Really tough, really big,

Really great advertising, so we

Get to people before they start.

John: so an ad campaign.

Sure, it's important

Not to start abusing opioids,

But that doesn't help the people

Who are already struggling

With addiction.

It's kind of like seeing someone

Neck deep in quicksand

And putting up a

"Don't do quicksand" sign.

Also, the ad blitz strategy

Has famously been tried

And failed

Before with nancy reagan's

"Just say no" campaign.

And yet, it still seems to be

Trump's preferred approach,

Going by what happened at one of

His rallies last year.

Don't take dr*gs.

Okay?

Raise your hand.

Raise your hand.

I promise donald j. Trump that I

Will never take dr*gs.

I don't want to say no alcohol,

But take it easy on the alcohol!

John: what are you doing?

Why are you walking back

The pledge as you go?

You would be a terrible wedding

Officiant.

"Do you take this woman --

I don't want to say

'Forsaking all others.'

There are going to be others.

But take it easy on the others.

And don't let them call you

At home."

Still, it is good that the

President is calling attention

To the opioid crisis.

The problem is, attention is

Pretty much all he's giving it.

Because he didn't put out

A detailed strategy,

And his splashiest step --

Declaring it

A "public health emergency" --

Doesn't actually do very much.

It will streamline some

Access to addiction treatment,

But provides few new resources.

Financing comes from the public

Health emergency fund, which has

A balance of just over $56,000.

The federal government estimates

The crisis costs $75 billion

Annually.

John: it's true.

Trump has finally chimed in

With his two cents about how

To tackle this crisis, and it

Involves allotting, for the



To opioids, literally

About two cents each.

So trump's fix for our opioids

Epidemic essentially boils down

To, "here's two pennies.

Go throw them in a mall fountain

And wish your addiction away."

But for now, let's turn to

Alabama, the south's

"The south."

On december 12th, they're

Holding a special election

For the senate seat left open by

Current attorney general

Jeff sessions, a position

I assume he will be leaving

Any day now for his regular

Holiday job.

This special election has gotten

A lot of buzz, because

The republican candidate

And frontrunner is former

Alabama supreme court chief

Justice roy moore.

And he is a lot.

He's called american indians

"Reds" and asian americans

"Yellows."

He's called islam

A false religion.

He's said h*m* activity

Should be illegal.

He reportedly said in february

That the 9/11 att*cks might have

Been punishment for america's

Turning away from god.

And on monday, he caused a stir

By waving a g*n...

I believe in the second

Amendment.

During a campaign rally.

John: oh, and that's not all.

He personally kicked a panda

In the balls and once called

Tom hanks the n-word.

And just in case you thought

He couldn't get worse,

Moore is also an aspiring poet.

Just listen to him recite a poem

He calls "america

The beautiful."

America, the beautiful,

Or so you used to be.

Land of the pilgrims' pride.

I'm glad they're not here

To see.

Babies piled in dumpsters,

Abortion on demand.

Oh, sweet land of liberty,

Your house is on the sand.

John: okay, look.

I don't support everything

Roy moore says, but I think we

Can all agree:

That is objectively good poetry.

I would go so far as to say

That's the best use of dumpster

Baby imagery since

Robert frost's famous "stopping

By a dumpster full of babies

On a snowy evening."

"Whose babies these are,

I think I know.

His babies are in the dumpster,

Though.

He will not see me stopping

Here, to say

'Holy shit, this dumpster

Is full of babies.'"

And speaking of poetic,

Listen to roy moore's feelings

On h*m*.

Because as bad as you assume

They are, they're actually

Worse.

He favors criminalizing sodomy,

And if you ask him about that,

Things get weird fast.

Sodomy is against the laws of

Nature.

Okay, let's take another one.

Is there a right in the

Constitution for bestiality?

Look, you're asking...

There is no right in the

Constitution to commit

Bestiality.

There's nothing that says a man

Can have sex with a donkey

Or a woman can have sex

With a donkey, right?

It's not in there.

John: okay, say what you will

About roy moore, he's a man

Who believes that a woman can

f*ck a donkey every bit as well

As a man.

And that's something.

#Tapthatass.

#Feminism.

Moore has also stoked fear

Of muslims, even once suggesting

That keith ellison's faith

Should prevent him from serving

In congress.

Now luckily, due to everything

You've seen, republicans in both

The house and the senate have

Roundly condemned moore and his

Views and have even gone so far

As to --

I'm obviously kidding!

He just entered into

A fundraising agreement with the

Rnc and multiple republican

Senators are actively

Fundraising on his behalf.

And if you're wondering

Why they'd do that, I'll let

Texas senator john cornyn

Explain.

John: but that kind of blind

Loyalty means there's nobody

You would not support.

If the republican party

Nominated a swarm of

Smallpox-infected bees,

Presumably john cornyn would

Say, "look, we disagree on a lot

Of things, but senator, all

Those bees is a reliable vote

On tax cuts.

I support the nominee

Of my party."

And even the republican senators

Who aren't publicly supporting

Moore are hardly condemning him.

Here are a few of their

Reactions after being asked

To comment on his campaign.

Senator dean heller

Of nevada, "who won?

I wasn't paying attention.

I'm just worried about taxes."

Senator rob portman of ohio,

"He's going to be for tax

Reform, I think.

I don't know.

I don't know him."

Senator tim scott of

South carolina, "I'm not going

To comment about anything I

Haven't read about.

I literally have not followed

That race."

John: "I haven't followed

That one"?

Come on.

This is your own party's senate

Candidate, not "ray donovan."

"I haven't been following

That one.

What is his character?

The poster gives me nothing!

Is he an assassin?

A sommelier?

An uncle showing up drunk

At a christening?

Is he a member of the wahlberg

Family?

It's impossible to know."

And if any of that has made you

Feel sad about the state of our

Democracy, spare a thought

For australia,

Not in fact the birthplace

Of outback steakhouse but yet

Very much the outback steakhouse

Of countries.

Australia is currently in the

Midst of a major vote

Of its own.

At the moment, 16 million

Australians are being asked

To vote in a postal survey

On same sex marriage.

John: it's true,

The australian government is

Conducting a postal survey on

Whether same-sex marriage should

Be legal, which is an odd thing

To do.

Because polls already exist

Showing around two-thirds

Of australians support it.

So parliament could simply

Pass it into law.

But instead,

They're inexplicably holding

A non-legally binding, voluntary

Postal vote at a public cost

Of $120 million, which is the

Weirdest waste of australian

Money since every

Baz luhrman movie ever made.

The ballots are due by

November 7th, and the campaign

Has been truly toxic,

With members of parliament

Delivering ridiculous arguments

Against marriage equality

Like this.

There are all sorts of

Affectionate relationships.

I have an affectionate

Relationship with you, sam.

We're not married.

No, that's right.

We're not married.

You have a very lovely wife.

I have an affectionate

Relationship with my cycling

Mates, who we go cycling

On the weekends,

But that's not marriage.

John: "I mean, we do f*ck.

We finish cycling and we slowly

Peel our cycling clothes off

By the side of a bucolic country

Road and we f*ck.

But that's not marriage.

That's f*cking

Your cycling mates."

That's different.

Your cycling mates.

Use cycle.

You f*ck.

That's not marriage.

And he's not the only one

Hung up on semantics.

One activist seemed unusually

Obsessed with terminology.

Ladies and gentlemen,

If I may still use that term

In these gender-fluid times.

I speak for marriage.

Speaking against same-sex

Marriage is sophie york from the

Lobby group marriage alliance,

Which says unions of same-sex

Couples shouldn't even be

Called marriage.

I think that the idea of

Having a different word has been

Floated, and I'm sure it still

Will be and someone else put

Forth the word "garriage"

As a -- as a possibility.

John: "garriage."

That is a stupid word,

Except in the rare case of

A wedding between two men

Named gary, in which case, yes,

Obviously, they should be

Getting garried.

And look, as stupid as that is,

It's the sort of argument

You'd expect.

But the "no" campaign has also

Had some surprising members,

Like this couple.

I used to be a supporter

Of same-sex marriage.

I mean, I proposed to ben

Five years ago.

I just explained to him.

I said, "I don't think

It's my cup of tea."

Even if same-sex marriage is

Legalized, mark and ben won't be

Walking down the aisle.

If it's yes, we'll be like,

Okay, then.

Well, congratulations.

Everyone can get married.

But we personally will not be

Getting married.

We'll stand by our commitment

To each other.

We don't need marriage

In our lives.

Definitely not.

John: whoa.

Two things.

Ben?

You are cold blooded!

And mark, you can do so much

Better than him.

You deserve someone as committed

To you as you are to them.

You listen to me, mark.

You listen to me.

This relationship is going

Nowhere.

Don't stay together

For the dog.

He knows you're unhappy too!

You respect yourself, mark.

And you leave.

Get yourself on australian

Grindr and you swipe in,

I'm presuming, the opposite

Direction than we do.

In fact, this whole debate got

So heated over the past few

Months, it even spilled over

Into australian rugby's version

Of the super bowl.

An online petition is calling

On the league to stop american

Rapper macklemore from

Performing his gay rights song

"Same love" as part of sunday's

Grand final entertainment.

John: okay, that is putting

Me in a tough position.

Because I support gay marriage,

But I refuse to ever say,

"Let macklemore perform!"

His music belongs in one place

And one place only, and that's

The pandora station

"Now that is what your mom calls

Rap music."

Also, let's not pretend that

Australia has relentlessly high

Standards of who performs

At their sporting events.

Not after this memorable

Performance at the 2011

Afl grand final.

♪ Well, I won't do ♪

♪ Anything for love! ♪

♪ Oh, I would do anything ♪

♪ For love! ♪

♪ Oh, I would do anything ♪

♪ For love ♪

♪ But I won't! ♪

♪ Do ♪

♪ That ♪

♪ No, I won't do that ♪

John: step aside,

Buddy holly, richie valens,

And the big bopper.

There's a new "day the music

Died" in town.

And fighting the debate with

Words and songs is one thing.

But in some cases it's actually

Got physical.

The pro-gay marriage

Head of qantas got pied

In the face, while the anti-gay

Marriage former prime minister

Tony abbott, a man whose smile

Says, "smell that?

I just cut one" --

He had an unfortunate incident

When he was walking down the

Street.

A gentleman sang out

"Hey, tony."

I turned around.

He said, "I want to shake

Your hand."

I saw him coming towards me.

I held out my hand.

He grabbed my hand.

And it turned into a head-butt.

John: it's true.

Tony abbott was head-butted by

This man, a tasmanian anarchist

Who goes by the names

"Astro labe," and, even better,

"Dj funknukl."

Although it turns out that

According to dj funknukl

The attack actually was not

Connected with the gay marriage

Issue at all.

Has absolutely nothing to do

With marriage equality.

That was just coincidental that

Someone had stuck a sticker

On my jacket.

I was thinking,

"There's tony abbott.

I'm going to head-butt him."

John: so here's the important

Thing.

I am in no way

Condoning tony abbott

Being att*cked.

What I will say is, thinking

To yourself,

"There's tony abbott.

I'm going to head-butt him,"

Is entirely natural.

It's an a*t*matic human

Response, like "there's a puppy.

I'm going to pet it."

Or "there's sean penn.

I'm not going to see

That movie."

So this has been a dispiriting,

Ultimately pointless process,

And I think there

Are only two good things

That could come out of it.

One is if australia's parliament

Legalizes gay marriage

At the earliest opportunity.

And two, that mark heeds my

Words, puts himself out there,

And meets someone who deserves

Him.

Because, mark, you can find

Someone who would do anything

For love, including that.

And now this.

♪ America, god shed his

Grace on thee ♪

♪ From sea to shining sea ♪

John: moving on.

Our main story tonight concerns

Floods.

They're clearly catastrophic,

Traumatic events.

Although they have also been

Responsible for one of the most

Memorable clips in the history

Of broadcast news.

Good morning.

Well, obviously we're getting

A nice break from the rain,

But not the flooding.

This essentially now a part of

The passaic river in this

Neighborhood.

John: that's it,

f*ck james cameron.

And f*ck "titanic."

Because that is now officially

The greatest boat disaster

Ever captured on film.

It's over.

Floods were everywhere

This summer.

Think of them as the "despacito"

Of natural disasters:

Persistent, ubiquitous,

And absolutely no fault of the

Puerto rican government.

And floods are always

Threatening.



In the u.s. Involve a flood,

Which is, I assume, the reason

Fema's website once referred

To flooding as "america's

Number one natural hazard!"

Which is a pretty weird tone

To take when describing

Something horrible.

It's like saying,

"Boils: america's number one

Staph infection!"

Or "parks: america's number one

Place to die unnoticed!"

And floods are only going to get

Worse due to climate change.

And I know there are people

Who'll dispute that, and we just

Don't have time to litigate

Whether extreme weather events

Are exacerbated by climate

Change, so for now,

Let's just say, yeah,

They definitely are.

I mean, sure, it's a complicated

Issue, and we might not have

Definitive proof until the late



But while floods are often

Referred to as natural

Disasters, the truth is,

The damage they do is often,

To some extent, within our

Control because we have made

Certain decisions that put

And keep people and property

In the path of flooding.

And that is what this story

Is about.

And before we go any further,

Let's acknowledge that people

Live near water for all sorts

Of reasons.

For some, it's where their

Families have lived for

Generations or a necessity

For the work that they do.

For others, it's a luxury,

And living next to the water is

Undoubtedly attractive, despite

Risks like flooding

Or stepping on pointy seashells

Or mistakenly giving a tostito

To a seagull without realizing

That means you'll now spend

The rest of your life haunted by

A tostito-addicted seagull.

The point is, whatever the

Reason to live by the water,

Many do it, and are --

For f*ck's sake.

You've got to be kidding me.

I don't have any tostitos!

I've been telling you that

For six years.

Look, no tostitos!

Get out of here,

You flying beach rat!

Sorry.

The point is, the dangers of

Waterfront living are real.

But many people, like this man

Who lives on the water

In tampa bay, feel the benefits

Outweigh the risks.

Mark knows that life here

Is tenuous.

But he doesn't dwell on it.

Every morning when I walk out

To get the paper, I see dolphins

Frolicking in the bayou

And roseate spoonbills walking

Around the edge of the bayou,

So tends to make you forget

About all those sorts of things.

John: sure, I can imagine

Seeing a roseate spoonbill

Would take your mind off things,

Because you're spending your

Whole day trying to figure out

How a flamingo could have gotten

Its stupid bird face stuck

Into a panini press.

I'm just saying even people who

Like birds don't like this bird.

The audubon society,

An organization whose entire

Purpose is to champion birds,

Says they're "gorgeous

At a distance and bizarre

Up close."

Which is like the american

Kennel club saying,

"We celebrate all dogs and honor

Them as man's best friend,

But the dandie dinmont has a

Trash personality and looks like

A scottie f*cked phil spector."

And look, if you're literally

Overlooking a bayou, like that

Guy, you're probably aware

That flooding is a risk.

But not every flood-prone area

Is directly along the coast.

And sometimes, aggressive

Development can exacerbate

The risk of flooding,

Even considerably inland.

Just look at houston, which was

Recently rocked by harvey.

The metro area's development

Has exploded.

One study found the houston area

Has added 25% more pavement over



Wetlands that could absorb water

With concrete-covered suburbia.

John: exactly, and that made

Harvey's damage significantly

Worse.

Concrete isn't good

At absorbing water.

That's why people don't dry off

At the beach by rolling around

In the parking lot.

But it's not just global warming

Or unchecked growth that have

Put more people in risky,

Flood prone areas.

It's also the fact that it's

Frequently only possible for

People to take that risk because

They have flood insurance.

Just look at "buying the beach,"

A "house hunters" type show

For people who want to live

Near the water.

One episode featured

Two brothers named mitch

And daniel arguing over

A particular beach house,

Leading to this exchange.

What'd you think about

The island house, mitch?

Well, I think there was a lot

Of good and a lot of bad on it.

Right off those steps

Into the beach.

Can't be beat.

Really close to the water.

That's just another thing

That's got me concerned.

Well, that's what insurance

Is for.

John: "that's what insurance

Is for."

That may be the most reckless

Statement ever said on a boat.

And I am very much including,

"I can definitely make this shot

Work," and "hey, let's feed

These gulls some tostitos!"

I don't have any!

All I did was say the word!

Get out of here!

No tostitos!

No tostitos!

But mitch --

No tostitos!

But mitch isn't wrong that,

If they bought that house,

They could get flood insurance,

And surprisingly cheaply.

And it's worth taking some time

To understand why

That's the case.

Because unlike other forms of

Homeowner's insurance,

Flood protection is actually

Underwritten by the government

Through the nfip, or national

Flood insurance program.

It started nearly 50 years ago,

After historic floods wiped out

Many people's homes

In the 1960s.

And the government then realized

There was a real problem.

Insurance companies wouldn't

Cover floods at an affordable

Cost because it was too risky.

Because of that,

The government was spending way

Too much on disaster relief.

So they stepped in and created

The nfip, which offered

Significantly discounted

Insurance to encourage people

To buy it.

And that sounds great.

But crucially, the aim at the

Time was not that people would

Be staying in at-risk homes

Permanently, as the program's

Current administrator explains.

They presumed that if we told

People they were at risk,

They would move.

They presumed that over the life

Of the program, those discounts

Wouldn't need to be continued,

And they presumed it wouldn't

Need to be continued because

Once people knew they had the

Risk they would move out.

That has not proven true.

John: no, but of course

It hasn't.

Because that's not how people

Work.

We'll gladly accept huge risks

To our personal safety for the

Sake of a discount.

That was the entire premise

Behind the mcdonald's

Dollar menu.

And that's just one of the many

Flaws with how this

Well-intentioned program

Was designed.

Because everything about it

From who participates

To where the money goes

To the incentives it creates

Needs fixing.

And let's start with the fact

That eligibility for the program

Is determined through floodplain

Maps.

You are required to buy

Flood insurance if you have

A federally backed mortgage

And fema's maps show you live in

A risky area.

Unfortunately, the mandate has

Been poorly enforced, meaning

Lots of people don't buy

Insurance who should.

And the maps themselves can be

Both out of date and wildly

Inaccurate.

In fact, just days before harvey

Struck, a study of houston-area

Flood maps was published,

And the results were alarming.

Over the course of a decade,

Researchers at rice university

And texas a&m galveston

Studied one section of southeast

Harris county.

They found fema's flood plain

Maps missed about 75%

Of the damages from the storms.

John: 75%.

At that point, you might as well

Predict floods by having

Blindfolded 6-year-olds

Pin little cardboard puddles

Onto city maps at birthday

Parties.

But even if all the maps were

Perfect, there'd be another flaw

With the nfip, which is how

It's administered.

You see, typically,

The government doesn't directly

Insure you.

Instead, it pays private

Insurance companies a fee

For every policy they sell.

But not just that.

The federal government is then

Responsible for covering

Any losses, which is a pretty

f*cking sweet deal.

The companies take none of

The risk, and yet

Get all the rewards.

But it gets worse.

Because they also get paid

For each claim they handle.

And when "frontline" crunched

Some of the numbers and

Presented them to a former head

Of the program, they found

Something shocking.

There was one number

That really jumped out.

With all the claims in the wake

Of sandy, the profits were more

Than $400 million.

Because they're handling

A lot of claims that year,

And they get -- make a lot of

Money when they handle claims.

When a big storm hits, then,

They make more money?

Yeah, at the very time you

Need them to make less money,

If anything, because the burden

Is going to be borne by the

Taxpayers, they make a k*lling.

John: that's true.

For insurance companies,

The bigger the disaster,

The more they stand to profit.

It's a business model

Not usually seen outside of

Nicolas cage's career.

And while the insurance industry

May dispute exactly how much

Profit they make, the fact

Remains that the government

And the taxpayer

Are definitely the ones

Eating the losses.

Which is one of the reasons why,

Even before these latest

Hurricanes, the program was

$25 Billion in debt.

And there aren't enough

Roseate spoonbills in the world

To take your mind off

That sort of thing.

And just to be clear, there are

Exactly enough roseate

Spoonbills in the world.

I'm just saying do we all really

Need more of this?

"Hey, kids, come see!

The dirty pink dinosaur

Is noisily devouring its young!"

And look, there is a good

Argument to make that helping

People stay in their homes after

A disaster is what government

Is for.

But remember, a big chunk of

That money is just going to the

Insurance companies.

And another, shockingly big,

Chunk of that money goes to

Very few homes.

For instance, along the gulf

Coast in florida, just 1%

Of properties covered by

The nfip have accounted for

A quarter of flood claims.

These are so-called "repetitive

Loss properties," homes that can

Flood over and over and over

Again, getting payments each

Time.

And some of them

Are costing us a fortune.

Just recently an article in

The washington post highlighted

A home in pointe coupee parish

That has flooded 40 times.

While the house is valued at

Just $56,000, the nfip has doled

Out nearly $430,000

To cover flood claims.

John: so that's just

Stupid.

If nothing else, if your house

Floods 40 times, mother nature

Is sending you a pretty clear

Message, and that's,

"Hey, would you mind leaving?

Some weird fish would like

To f*ck in here now."

And some parts of the country

Have particularly extreme

Examples of this.

Remember mitch and daniel?

The pastel deathtrap they were

Looking at is on a place called

Dauphin island, where over

The past two decades,

Homeowners have "paid just

$9.3 million in premiums"

In to the nfip but received

$72.2 million in payments

For their damaged homes.

It's so bad, the island got

Written up by bloomberg under

The headline,

"Love of coastal living is

Draining u.s. Disaster funds."

And at first glance, we thought,

Hold on.

Isn't that the exact same

Eyesore on stilts that mitch

And daniel almost bought?

Well, the good news is,

It's not.

The bad news is, it's literally

The house next door, and it was

Also featured on a different

Episode of "buying the beach."

It's right in the water.

It wasn't close to the beach.

It was in the ocean.

The waves are just

Right here.

Ooh, it's literally in ocean.

This is insane.

John: yeah, it is insane.

But what's even crazier is,

At the end of the episode,

They decided to buy that house.

But even if you were able to

Overlook the repetitive loss

Properties, which you shouldn't,

There's another issue.

Nearly one out of every five

Homes covered under the nfip

Is actually a second home.

And because the program isn't

Means-tested, the benefits

Frequently go to some wealthy

Individuals' vacation homes.

One such property belonged to

John stossel, fox news

Personality and partially

Hydrogenated tom selleck.

And I'll let stossel,

Who answers the question,

"What if freddie mercury

Had quit singing to become an

Assistant floor manager at men's

Wearhouse," tell you about it,

Because even he knew it was

Ridiculous.

Years ago, I built this beach

House.

That's younger me there.

The house was on the edge of the

Atlantic ocean, a risky place

To build, but I built anyway,

'Cause a federal program

Guaranteed my investment.

Eventually a storm swept away

My first floor, but I didn't

Lose a penny.

Thanks.

I never invited you there, but

You paid for my new first floor.

John: okay, now he's just

Baiting people.

Because under no circumstances

Does anyone want to be funding

The reconstruction of the

World's smuggest man's rickety

Sea prison.

And there's lots to be confused

About there, not least that

Photo of stossel, posing

Shirtless in skintight

White swim trunks from hundreds

Of feet away.

Who took that photo?

It can't be another human

Who wanted it.

So here's my guess.

I think that he put a camera

On a long-delay timer,

Then sprinted for a full



His house, whispering

"Hurry, hurry, hurry" to himself

The entire time, and got in

Position just in time

For that photo to happen.

That's the only scientifically

Possible explanation.

We debated this for a week,

And it's the only scenario

We could all agree on.

And look, here's the thing.

If you choose to build

Something in a risky place, like

John stossel's salt-battered,

Bottoms-only beach-mistake,

You should absolutely be allowed

To do that.

But you shouldn't expect

The government to repeatedly

Help you rebuild when things

Inevitably go wrong.

However the vast majority

Of nfip beneficiaries are not

Wealthy or second home owners.

They often really need this

Program, and can't afford for it

To go under.

And for those stuck in

Repetitive loss properties,

It's easy to say they should

Just move, but it is much more

Difficult than that,

As this kentucky woman,

Whose home has flooded

Repeatedly, will tell you.

We couldn't sell our house.

Who would want to buy a house

That's had this many repetitive

Floods in it?

Who would wanna buy it?

We have neighbors that have had

Their houses up for sale for

Two, three years, that haven't

Even had anyone come and view

The house.

We need a buyout from fema

Or from whoever it is

That is responsible for this.

John: right, and the decision

To try and leave couldn't have

Been easy.

Because you don't want to throw

Out the baby with the

Floodwater, but at a certain

Point, the responsible thing

To do is get a better,

More water-resistant baby.

Which is, incidentally,

Also the title of britain's

Best-selling book on teaching

Children to swim.

Unfortunately, our buyout

Programs are hugely underfunded

And prohibitively slow.

It can take years for buyouts

To get approved, by which point,

Homeowners have probably had

To rebuild their house,

At the government's expense,

And it may have already flooded

Again.

So, essentially, a government

Program that was supposed to

Help people in flooded homes

Is sometimes trapping them

Inside them indefinitely.

Trapping people in

Structurally unsound houses

Isn't what the government

Is for.

It's what "buying the beach"

Is for.

Look, there just has to be

A better way.

And there are some key things we

Can do to improve this program.

We can do things like means-test

It, and eventually get rid of

Discounts for second homes,

And gradually increase insurance

Rates on some properties so they

Reflect actual risk.

Unfortunately, the last time

Congress tried a major reform

Of the nfip,

With the biggert-waters act of



People's rates skyrocketed

Overnight.

And politicians were so spooked

By angry constituents,

They significantly scaled back

Many of the reforms.

And I'm not saying this will

Ever be politically easy.

Because even if you do properly

Fund and streamline a buyout

Scheme, there are going to be

Cases where people just want

To stay put.

Right here in new york,

There's a low-lying

Community called broad channel

Where the streets can flood

Twice a month.

Its residents fought against

Those rate increases a few years

Ago.

And many of them have

No interest in leaving.

Nah, the neighborhood

Is too great.

Listen, my whole house

Got destroyed by sandy.

And I redid my whole house.

People are like, you're crazy,

You should move.

I said, absolutely not.

John: but you're standing

In water right now.

Maybe the people telling you

To move were saying,

"At the very least, can you move

Up five inches to dry land?"

But the hard truth here is,

Even expensive interventions

Are likely to only buy that

Community a little more time,

And people in broad channel will

Eventually be leaving, whether

It's by moving truck or by boat.

Because environmental conditions

Are going to get worse.

Heavy downpours have increased

In the last 50 years.

And sea levels have been

Climbing steadily.

And I'm not saying that's

Because of climate change,

Even though...

It is!

John: it just is.

Precisely.

The nfip is actually due for

Reauthorization this december,

And I'd argue it's time to take

Another shot at serious,

Thoughtful reform.

Because without it, we have

An unsustainable program that's

Indirectly harming some of the

People that it was designed

To help.

I don't have any--

John, john, relax.

I'm not here for tostitos.

John: really?

Hold on.

You can talk?

Of course.

Seagulls can talk.

We just choose to listen

Most of the time.

John: that's nice.

I heard what you said about

Flooding, and you're right.

I've seen it.

I'm a seagull.

Some people in high-risk areas

Will need to move.

And we should give them help

To do that.

Because while leaving your home

Is hard, being forced out when

It's uninhabitable is ten times

Harder.

And after all, your home

Isn't just walls and a roof.

It's where the people

You love are.

John: oh, seagull.

I gotta say that was absolutely

Beautiful.

Yeah, not bad for a flying

Beach rat, huh?

John: no, no, no.

Don't talk like that about

Yourself.

It's okay.

I know it's true.

You know it's true.

Everyone watching knows it.

I eat french fries

Out of the garbage.

John: you make a good point.

You're truly disgusting.

But I'm truly sorry for

Misjudging your motives

In coming here.

That's okay, johnny.

Just one more thing.

Do you have any tostitos?

John: f*ck you!

Get the f*ck out of here!

And now this.

John: and now this.

This is the way america is

Heading.

No doubt.

I am not against gays.

I am not against learning about

Gay people.

I'm not against female

Firefighters.

I am not against federal

Employees.

I'm not against immigration.

I'm not bashing immigrants.

I like immigrants.

I like immigrants.

I think I like every mexican

Person I've ever met.

I like the country.

I am not against people from

Somalia.

Canada is a sweet country.

It's like you're Ret*rded

Because in a new pat them on the

Head.

I'm not attacking oprah.

I'm not against george clooney.

I like morgan freeman.

I have nothing against jane

Fonda.

I am not against matthew

Mcconaughey.

I don't understand your story.

I know I'm against it.

But I like it.

John: that's our show.

Thank you so much for watching.

See you next week.

Good night.

Take it easy.

Take it easy.

Have the bag.

Oh, shit.