#Business loan facility

[financing007]

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[finaqofinance]

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[anamika-malhotra]

Maintaining liquidity is essential for day-to-day operations. Cash flow gaps can arise unexpectedly, and having access to quick, flexible financing solutions can be crucial. One such solution is the Business Overdraft (OD) Loan, often referred to as the "Business Overdraft Facility" in local parlance. This financial product is tailored specifically for small business owners and traders (dukandars), providing them with a safety net to manage short-term cash flow needs. This article explores the features, benefits, and considerations of the Business Overdraft Loan, focusing on its relevance and application in the business world.

Understanding Business Overdraft (OD) Loan

A Business Overdraft Loan is a credit facility provided by banks and financial institutions that allows businesses to withdraw more money from their current account than they have deposited. Unlike traditional loans, which provide a lump sum amount upfront, an overdraft facility offers a revolving credit line up to a predetermined limit. This limit is often based on the borrower's creditworthiness, business turnover, and collateral offered.

Features of Business Overdraft (OD) Loans

Flexible Credit Limit: The overdraft limit is usually determined based on the business's financial health and credit profile. It can range from a few thousand dollars to several million, depending on the size and nature of the business.

Interest on Utilized Amount: Unlike a term loan, where interest is charged on the entire loan amount, an overdraft facility charges interest only on the amount utilized. This makes it a cost-effective option for managing short-term liquidity needs.

Revolving Credit Facility: The overdraft facility operates as a revolving credit line, allowing businesses to borrow, repay, and borrow again within the approved limit. This flexibility helps manage cash flow fluctuations without the need for repeated loan applications.

Secured and Unsecured Options: Depending on the borrower's credit profile, banks may offer secured or unsecured overdraft facilities. Secured overdrafts require collateral, such as property or inventory, while unsecured overdrafts are based on the business's creditworthiness.

Convenient Repayment: Repayment schedules for overdraft facilities are flexible, with businesses often required to make minimum monthly payments. Full repayment can be made at any time, reducing interest costs.

Benefits of Dukandar Overdraft Facility

Immediate Access to Funds: The primary advantage of a Business Overdraft Loan is the immediate access to funds it provides. This is particularly beneficial for small business owners who may face sudden expenses or delays in payments from customers.

Cost-Effective Solution: Since interest is only charged on the utilized amount, businesses can save on interest costs compared to a term loan where interest accrues on the entire borrowed sum.

No Prepayment Penalties: Businesses can repay the overdraft amount at any time without incurring prepayment penalties, offering flexibility in managing cash flows.

Enhances Business Credit Score: Regular use and timely repayment of an overdraft facility can help improve the business's credit score, making it easier to secure future financing.

Support for Seasonal Businesses: For businesses with seasonal revenue fluctuations, such as retail stores or traders, the overdraft facility provides a cushion to manage off-season expenses.

Considerations Before Opting for an Overdraft Facility

While the Business Overdraft Loan offers numerous benefits, there are several factors businesses should consider:

Interest Rates: Overdraft facilities often come with higher interest rates compared to traditional loans. It's essential to compare rates across different banks and financial institutions.

Overdraft Fees: Some banks charge fees for overdraft facilities, such as annual maintenance fees or penalties for exceeding the credit limit. Businesses should be aware of these charges and factor them into their cost calculations.

Collateral Requirements: For secured overdrafts, businesses need to provide collateral. The type and value of collateral required can vary, and in the event of default, the collateral may be seized.

Credit Limit Restrictions: The overdraft limit is typically lower than other forms of business financing. This may not be sufficient for businesses with larger financing needs.

Impact on Credit Score: While regular repayment can improve credit scores, excessive use of an overdraft facility or failure to repay can negatively impact the business's credit profile.

Conclusion

The Business Overdraft Loan, or Dukandar Overdraft Facility, is a versatile financial tool that offers small business owners and traders a flexible solution to manage cash flow needs. With its revolving credit structure, interest-on-utilized amount feature, and immediate access to funds, it is particularly suited for businesses facing short-term liquidity challenges. However, it's crucial for business owners to carefully assess their financial situation, compare options, and understand the associated costs and risks before opting for this facility. By doing so, they can leverage the benefits of the overdraft facility while ensuring sustainable financial health for their business.

[tanya029]

The Business Overdraft (OD) Loan, often marketed as the Dukandar Overdraft Facility This facility is tailored to meet the unique needs of businesses, especially retail businesses (dukandars), providing them with a financial cushion to manage short-term liquidity challenges.

What is a Business Overdraft (OD) Loan?

A Business Overdraft Loan is a credit facility provided by banks and financial institutions that allows businesses to withdraw more money than what is available in their current account, up to a specified limit. This limit is determined based on the creditworthiness of the business and its financial health. The overdraft amount can be used for various business purposes, such as purchasing inventory, paying suppliers, managing operational expenses, or covering unforeseen expenses.

Features of a Business Overdraft Loan

Flexible Withdrawals: Businesses can withdraw funds as needed, up to the approved limit, and repay the amount as per their cash flow convenience.

Interest on Utilized Amount: Interest is charged only on the amount utilized, not on the entire overdraft limit. This makes it a cost-effective solution compared to traditional loans.

Revolving Credit: The overdraft facility acts as a revolving credit line, allowing businesses to borrow, repay, and borrow again within the approved limit without the need for a fresh loan application.

No Collateral Required: Many banks offer unsecured overdraft facilities to small businesses, though the terms may vary based on the business's credit profile.

Quick Approval and Disbursement: The application process for an overdraft facility is generally quicker than traditional loans, with minimal documentation required, enabling faster access to funds.

Dukandar Overdraft Facility: Tailored for Retailers

The Dukandar Overdraft Facility is specifically designed for retail businesses, acknowledging the unique cash flow challenges faced by retailers. Here’s how this facility benefits retail businesses:

Seasonal Cash Flow Management: Retailers often experience fluctuating cash flows due to seasonal demand. The overdraft facility helps manage these variations by providing easy access to funds during peak seasons and allowing repayment during off-peak periods.

Inventory Management: Retail businesses need to maintain adequate inventory to meet customer demand. The overdraft facility provides the necessary liquidity to purchase inventory without disrupting the cash flow.

Handling Operational Expenses: Daily operational expenses such as salaries, rent, and utilities can be managed efficiently with the overdraft facility, ensuring smooth business operations.

Meeting Unforeseen Expenses: Retailers can face unexpected expenses due to market changes, economic fluctuations, or emergencies. The overdraft facility acts as a financial safety net in such situations.

How to Apply for a Dukandar Overdraft Facility

Applying for a Dukandar Overdraft Facility typically involves the following steps:

Eligibility Check: Ensure your business meets the eligibility criteria set by the bank or financial institution. This may include factors like business vintage, annual turnover, and credit history.

Documentation: Prepare the necessary documents such as business registration certificates, bank statements, financial statements, and any other documents required by the lender.

Application Submission: Submit the application form along with the required documents to the bank or financial institution.

Credit Assessment: The lender will assess your business’s creditworthiness and financial health to determine the overdraft limit.

Approval and Agreement: Once approved, you will receive an overdraft agreement detailing the terms and conditions, including the interest rate, repayment terms, and overdraft limit.

Access to Funds: Upon signing the agreement, the overdraft limit will be activated, and you can start withdrawing funds as needed.

Conclusion

The Business OD Loan, particularly the Dukandar Overdraft Facility, is a vital financial tool for retail businesses, offering the flexibility and liquidity needed to manage cash flow effectively. Providing access to funds when needed enables retailers to maintain operations smoothly, manage inventory efficiently, and navigate through financial uncertainties with confidence. For any retail business looking to enhance its financial agility, the Dukandar Overdraft Facility is an excellent option.

[boy-and-girl-crazy123456]

"Dr. Jill Biden? More like Dr. GILF Bid-" the government assassin's bullet enters my skull without a sound, killing me instantly, without pain. The room is cleared and all records of my existence erased, and my loved ones ridiculed by the media as conspiracists.

Meanwhile, my body is mulched in a secret facility, and sold for 9 cents per pound to a small business in a disadvantaged community in Southern California that has operated for 3 years. They use it to raise a crop of crickets, which after maturation are themselves ground into a paste and used to form a cheap, environmentally friendly, high protein burger.

Vice President Kamala Harris sits at the dining table, the cricket burger in front of her. The business owners look on nervously. She slowly picks it up and brings it to her mouth for a single inquisitive bite, letting the flavor linger. She finds it agreeable at first but my foul, vulgar blood has imparted an acrid aftertaste. Without any facial indication of the mental grimace she is experiencing, she raises her hand and gives a thumbs down.

The small business owners hang their heads in shame. Their student loan debt will not be forgiven.

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #14

April 12-19 2024

The Department of Commerce announced a deal with Samsung to help bring advanced semiconductor manufacturing and research and development to Texas. The deal will bring 45 billion dollars of investment to Texas to help build a research center in Taylor Texas and expand Samsung's Austin, Texas, semiconductor facility. The Biden Administration estimates this will create 21,000 new jobs. Since 1990 America has fallen from making nearly 40% of the world's semiconductor to just over 10% in 2020.

The Department of Energy announced it granted New York State $158 million to help support people making their homes more energy efficient. This is the first payment out of a $8.8 billion dollar program with 11 other states having already applied. The program will rebate Americans for improvements on their homes to lower energy usage. Americans could get as much as $8,000 off for installing a heat pump, as well as for improvements in insulation, wiring, and electrical panel. The program is expected to help save Americans $1 billion in electoral costs, and help create 50,000 new jobs.

The Department of Education began the formal process to make President Biden's new Student Loan Debt relief plan a reality. The Department published the first set of draft rules for the program. The rules will face 30 days of public comment before a second draft can be released. The Administration hopes the process can be finished by the Fall to bring debt relief to 30 million Americans, and totally eliminate the debt of 4 million former students. The Administration has already wiped out the debt of 4.3 million borrowers so far.

The Department of Agriculture announced a $1 billion dollar collaboration with USAID to buy American grown foods combat global hunger. Most of the money will go to traditional shelf stable goods distributed by USAID, like wheat, rice, sorghum, lentils, chickpeas, dry peas, vegetable oil, cornmeal, navy beans, pinto beans and kidney beans, while $50 million will go to a pilot program to see if USAID can expand what it normally gives to new products. The food aid will help feed people in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Yemen.

The Department of the Interior announced it's expanding four national wildlife refuges to protect 1.13 million wildlife habitat. The refuges are in New Mexico, North Carolina, and two in Texas. The Department also signed an order protecting parts of the Placitas area. The land is considered sacred by the Pueblos peoples of the area who have long lobbied for his protection. Security Deb Haaland the first Native American to serve as Interior Secretary and a Pueblo herself signed the order in her native New Mexico.

The Department of Labor announced new work place safety regulations about the safe amount of silica dust mine workers can be exposed to. The dust is known to cause scaring in the lungs often called black lung. It's estimated that the new regulations will save over 1,000 lives a year. The United Mine Workers have long fought for these changes and applauded the Biden Administration's actions.

The Biden Administration announced its progress in closing the racial wealth gap in America. Under President Biden the level of Black Unemployment is the lowest its ever been since it started being tracked in the 1970s, and the gap between white and black unemployment is the smallest its ever been as well. Black wealth is up 60% over where it was in 2019. The share of black owned businesses doubled between 2019 and 2022. New black businesses are being created at the fastest rate in 30 years. The Administration in 2021 Interagency Task Force to combat unfair house appraisals. Black homeowners regularly have their homes undervalued compared to whites who own comparable property. Since the Taskforce started the likelihood of such a gap has dropped by 40% and even disappeared in some states. 2023 represented a record breaking $76.2 billion in federal contracts going to small business owned by members of minority communities. This was 12% of federal contracts and the President aims to make it 15% for 2025.

The EPA announced (just now as I write this) that it plans to add PFAS, known as forever chemicals, to the Superfund law. This would require manufacturers to pay to clean up two PFAS, perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. This move to force manufacturers to cover the costs of PFAS clean up comes after last week's new rule on drinking water which will remove PFAS from the nation's drinking water.

Bonus:

President Biden met a Senior named Bob in Pennsylvania who is personally benefiting from The President's capping the price of insulin for Seniors at $35, and Biden let Bob know about a cap on prosecution drug payments for seniors that will cut Bob's drug bills by more than half.

[barefoot-joker]

Snake in the Garden Pt 4~ Yandere!Lucifer X Reader

Hey, guys! Welcome to Snake in the Garden Part 4! In this chapter we meet a few new characters, so I hope I got their personalities right. I do hope you all like the new chapter as I had a lot of fun writing it. As always, enjoy and I hope you have a great day/night!

Words: 2395

Warnings: Swearing

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5

I heaved as I ran through the streets of Hell. I couldn’t get enough air to my lungs and my legs were growing weary of the journey. However, I kept my eyes on the marquee and just kept going. You’re almost there, Y/n! Come on! Soon you’ll be free!

I didn’t take the time to look at the demons surrounding me but my ears caught all of the screams, moans and conversations as I passed. A couple of times I was grabbed at, but I just shoved them away and continued my trek. When I reached the gate of the hotel I stopped to catch a breather, my hand grasping the iron bars to steady myself. I looked back from where I came, the palace a tiny speck in the distance. I wanted to pat myself on the back but I knew I wasn’t in the clear. Until I was back home Lucifer could rear his head at any moment. Speaking of the Devil, I wondered how long it would be till he noticed I was gone.

Taking in a few more breaths, I walked up the cobblestoned hill to the front door. The marquee shone a bright red and I felt like I was bathed in blood. Stopping at the front door, I marveled at how intricate it was. The stained glass formed a circus tent pattern and the rim held a golden tint to it. Bringing my hand up, I knocked on the glass, a knot forming in my stomach. What if all this work was for nothing? Would the Princess even listen to my case?

I didn’t have much time to think when the door opened. In front of me stood a tall, lean man dressed all in red. Among his red and black hair, black deer antlers stood and what I assumed to be his ears straightened in surprise. His red eyes felt different compared to Lucifer’s, his feeling more sinister. His grin seemed to grow wider as he looked me up and down. “Hello, my dear. Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel. I’m Alastor, the hotel’s facility manager. How can I be of-”

I rushed past him and slammed the door shut, my nails digging into the golden wood. “-service to you?”

I spun around to face him, my eyes blown wide in panic. “I need to speak to Charlie! Please, it’s an emergency!”

I clasped my hands tight in prayer and tried to make myself look as vulnerable as possible. “Charlie isn’t here at the moment, I’m afraid. She’s out on some business with Vaggie. The two of them should be back soon though.”

I groaned and hung my head in despair. How long will she be gone?

I lifted my head back up and let out a slight shriek at how close the deer man was. He was practically on top of me, our noses almost touching. “Though I could speed along the process if I was told what constitutes an emergency.”

I hadn’t noticed it before but as the man spoke his voice held a static to it, almost like an old radio. “Listen, Alastor was it? I don’t feel comfortable sharing that with you.”

“Hmm. I guess you’ll just have to wait then. Husker, make this sinner feel at home.”

I looked to the left and saw a bar that looked way too out of place. Blue boards made up the walls and floor while the dark oak bar top sat in the middle. The cat demon, Husker, looked up from drying a glass and sighed. Alastor wrapped his arm around my shoulder and dragged me over to the bar, shoving me at a stool. I sat on top of it and gulped as the radio man kept eyeing me from his post nearby. “What’ll you be havin’?”

“Oh, um, a water is fine.”

“Not much of a drinker, eh?”

“No. Besides, I don’t really drink around strangers.”

Husker shrugged and turned his back to me. When he returned to my side, he placed a rocks glass in front of me on the bar top. I grabbed it and sipped my water. “So, I couldn’t help but overhear you’re in an emergency. Got some loan sharks after you or somethin’?”

“Oh no, much worse. It’s a long story.”

“I’ve heard my fair share of long stories as a bartender.”

“I just don’t feel comfortable sharing. I’d much rather wait for Charlie.”

“I can respect that. Hell is a rough place and if you’re not careful it can swallow you whole. I learned that the hard way.”

He sighed and continued to dry glasses. As I sipped my drink, I glanced over to see Alastor still staring at me. That maniacal grin never leaving his face and his eyes cool and calculating. “So um, what’s Alastor’s deal? Why does he keep staring at me like I’m fresh meat at the butchers?”

“He’s always like that, scoping out the new guests. But a word of advice, don’t make a deal with him whatever you do. You think your life is horrible now, you got another thing comin’ with him.”

“I see.”

Suddenly I felt something grazing my ankles. I peered down to see a very short woman with a red bob, a stripe of yellow hair in front of her one giant pink eye. My eyes widened upon seeing the silver blade in her hands. The female looked up and a giant grin spread across her thin lips. “You're not meant to be down here, are you?”

“Huh?”

“You smell…human. Sinners have a certain scent and you don’t have it. We’ve got a live one, guys!”

She hopped into my lap and grabbed the top of the nightgown. I gulped at how the knife was slightly pointed at my throat. “You’re pretty for a live one, not that I’ve seen many like you before.”

“T-thanks?”

“How rude of me! I’m Niffty! I clean.”

She shook me back and forth. “A live one, hmm?”

Suddenly I felt a hand tighten on my shoulder. I looked back to see Alastor, the end of his smile reaching well past his eyes. “You didn’t quite introduce yourself to us, did you, my dear?”

“Leave her alone, Alastor!”

“Tsk, tsk, Husker. I just want to know what I should call our newest arrival.”

“I, I, I-”

I stopped when I heard the front door open, two voices chatting as they came inside. I had never been more thankful for a door to open. “Oh, hey guys! What’s going on,” The tall blonde asked.

She looked so similar to Lucifer so she must be Charlie. “We’ve got a live one, Charlie! And to think she was trying to hide,” Nifty replied.

The Princess turned her red gaze to me and I quickly threw off the deer and housekeeper. I got down on my knees and looked up at the blonde. “Please Charlie, you have to help me! Your dad is fucking crazy-”

“Oh you must be Y/n!”

My heart dropped. No. No, no, no, no. How much does she already know?

Lucifer’s daughter scooped me up to my height and pet me on the head. “It’s so lovely to finally meet you! My dad has sent me several pictures but you look much prettier in real life. But what are you doing all the way out here? Shouldn’t you be planning a wedding?”

“That’s my problem! I don’t want to be here! Please, you’ve got to help! I’m begging you!”

I could feel tears come to my eyes as I pleaded my case. Charlie’s eyes softened and she placed her hands on my shoulders. “Here, let’s take a walk. Vaggie, can you put our shopping away?”

“Of course, honey.”

“Come on.”

The blonde took me by the shoulders and led me up the grand staircase. We went up a few floors before stopping in a room that resembled a library. Charlie ushered me to sit in one of the leather armchairs and then she followed my lead. “So tell me everything. I’m sure my dad left out a few key details.”

I did. I told her how the two of us had met up until I had been forced to say yes to marrying him. While I told my tale, she didn’t say anything. She just hummed at key parts. “So can you help me?”

“I want to, I really do. However, my dad-”

“Fucking kidnapped me, Charlie! Do you really want me to go back to that?!”

She opened her mouth to say something when suddenly her phone rang. She pulled it out of her red suit jacket and her eyes widened. “Oh no.”

“What?”

“It’s my dad.”

“Shit! I’m not here!”

“But…”

“You see the good in others don’t you, Charlie? Can’t you see the good in you helping me?”

She bit her lip before sighing. She clicked the answer button and held the phone to her ear. “Hey, dad. What’s up?”

Lucifer didn’t even need to be on speaker as I could hear him shouting from the phone. “Charlie dear, thank goodness you picked up! Look, I’m in serious trouble and need your assistance.”

“What can I do for you?”

“My darling bride Y/n is gone! Vanished! I left her to her own devices and when I came back she’s left me! I thought someone took her but then I found this rope hanging out the bathroom window and have you seen her? I don’t know how long she’s been gone for and I don’t want her out and about by herself. Hell’s too dangerous!”

Charlie and I made eye contact and I begged her to not give me up. Her grip tightened around her phone and I could see the battle going on in her head. 

“Sorry dad, I haven’t seen her. I’ll keep an eye out though.”

“If you do find her please make sure she’s unharmed. I want my dear apple to be in one piece after all.”

“You’ve got it. But, hey, I’ve got to go. Vaggie’s calling me. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, thank you sweetie.”

“You’re welcome. Love you. Bye.”

She disconnected the call. I let out the breath I was holding. She did it. She actually was going to help me! 

“Okay, I know somebody who can get you back to Earth. But we’d better hurry. My dad sounds like he’s getting close.”

“Thank you so much, Charlie! I really do appreciate it!”

“Hurry now!”

She summoned a dark trenchcoat and fedora from thin air. I quickly put them on and out the front door we went. Our walk felt just as long as when I had run to the hotel, but this time demons didn’t seem to bother us. It was probably because the Princess of Hell was with me. We continued walking until we stopped at a very large mansion. Out front was a cobblestone drive and a fountain spraying water. Charlie and I walked up to the double set of dark blue doors and she knocked. They opened to reveal an imp butler, a small white mustache hiding his lips. “Hello, Princess! What can we do for you?”

“I need to speak with Stolas. It’s urgent, Pringles!”

“Follow me.”

We strutted inside and the little butler led us to a study. “I’ll let him know you’re here.”

“Thank you, Pringles.”

“Of course, Princess.”

The door shut behind him. The study was quite large with several bookcases housing thousands of novels near the walls. A desk with a tall, navy and gold chair sat behind a dark oak desk. The place seemed very fitting for a Prince. As we waited I found myself playing with my engagement ring. I willed myself to stop but my fingers kept rubbing it. Don’t get cold feet now, Y/n. You’re almost home free.

I heard the navy blue door open and I turned to see a very tall, skinny owl man. He wore a dark red jumpsuit with a wine red cape draped on his shoulders. White and black feathers made up the collar and they mingled with his own gray feathers. A smile found its way to his beak when he spotted us. “Charlie! It’s so good to see you, my dear!”

The two hugged and when he pulled away, he looked at me with his four red eyes. “Who might this be? A friend of yours?”

“Stolas, this is Y/n. My dad captured her and brought her down to Hell. We need to send her home to Earth.”

“Ah, so this is the infamous Y/n I’ve heard about. It’s a pleasure to be meeting you.”

He bowed. How many people has Lucifer told about me?

“But why would you want to go back to Earth? You’re getting married in a few months.”

“Because I don’t belong here! I was fucking kidnapped and am becoming a bride against my will! Please Mr Stolas, let me go home!”

“Have you and Lucifer made a contract together?”

“Huh?”

“I mean have you signed anything that he has given you?”

“No, I don’t believe so.”

He bowed his head. “Then I can help. Just let me get my Grimoire.”

He held up his hand and a blue and gold book came flying towards him. The book looked heavy as it floated in the air but the owl Prince paid it no mind. He flipped through each of the pages until he landed on one. “Y/n, if I do this for you I cannot guarantee your safety. I know Lucifer. He’ll be looking for you until you’re in his grasp again.”

“That’s fine. As long as I can go back.”

“Very well.”

He chanted out a spell and before I knew it a purple portal materialized before my very eyes. “Go quickly now. I can’t hold this open for long.”

“Thank you, both of you. I appreciate it!”

“Go!”

I walked through and not a minute later the portal closed behind me. I looked around and smiled. I was back in my house in the hallway. I laughed triumphantly and threw off my disguise, making my way to the living room. I stopped when I heard the crunching of what sounded like…chips? I looked over to my couch and I felt my eyes widen.

“There you are! It took you long enough!”

~~~~~~~~

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[mostlysignssomeportents]

When private equity destroys your hospital

I'm on tour with my new novel The Bezzle! Catch me TOMORROW in PHOENIX (Changing Hands, Feb 29) then Tucson (Mar 9-10), San Francisco (Mar 13), and more!

As someone who writes a lot of fiction about corporate crime, I naturally end up spending a lot of time being angry about corporate crime. It's pretty goddamned enraging. But the fiction writer in me is especially upset at how cartoonishly evil the perps are – routinely doing things that I couldn't ever get away with putting in a novel.

Beyond a doubt, the most cartoonishly evil characters are the private equity looters. And the most cartoonishly evil private equity looters are the ones who get involved in health care.

(Buckle up.)

Writing for The American Prospect, Maureen Tcacik details a national scandal: the collapse of PE-backed hospital chain Steward Health, a company that bought and looted hospitals up and down the country, starving them of everything from heart valves to prescription paper, ripping off suppliers, doctors and nurses, and callously exposing patients to deadly risk:

https://prospect.org/health/2024-02-27-scenes-from-bat-cave-steward-health-florida/

Steward occupies a very special place in the private equity looting cycle. Private equity companies arrange themselves on a continuum of indiscriminate depravity. At the start of the continuum are PE funds that buy productive and useful firms (everything from hospitals to car-washes) using "leveraged buyouts." That means that they borrow money to buy the company and use the company itself as collateral: it's like you getting a bank-loan to buy your neighbor's mortgage out from under them, and using your neighbor's house as collateral for that loan.

Once the buyout is done, the PE fund pays itself a "special dividend" (stealing money the business needs to survive) and then starts charging the business a "management fee" for the PE fund's expertise. To pay for all this, the PE bosses start to hack away at the company. Quality declines. So do wages. Prices go up. The company changes suppliers, opting for cheaper alternatives, often stiffing the old company. There are mass layoffs. The remaining employees end up doing three peoples' jobs, for lower wages, with fewer materials of lower quality.

Eventually, that top-feeding PE company finds a more desperate, more ham-fisted PE company to unload the business onto. That middle-feeding company also does a leveraged buyout, pays itself another special dividend, cuts wages, staffing and quality even further. They switch to even worse suppliers and stiff the last batch. Prices go up even higher.

Then – you guessed it – the middle-feeding PE company finds an even more awful PE bottom-feeder to unload the company onto. That bottom feeder does it all again, without even pretending to leave the business in condition to do its job. The company is a shambling zombie at this point, often producing literal garbage in place of the products that made its reputation. Employees' paychecks bounce, or don't show up at all. The company stops bothering to pay the lawyers that have been fending off its creditors. Those lawyers sue the company, too.

That's the kind of PE company Steward Health was, and, as the name suggests, Steward Health is in the business of stripping away the very last residue of value from community hospitals. As you might imagine, this gets pretty fucking ugly.

Steward owns 32 hospitals up and down the country, though its holdings are dwindling as the company walks away from its debt-burdened holdings, after years of neglect that have rendered them unfit for use as health facilities – or for any other purpose. Tcacik's piece offers a snapshot of one such hospital: Florida's Rockledge Regional Medical Center, just eight miles from Cape Canaveral.

Rockledge is a disaster. The fifth floor was, at one point, home to 5,000 bats.

Five.

Thousand.

Bats.

(Rockledge stiffed the exterminators.)

The bats were just the beginning. One of the internal sewage pipes ruptured. Whole sections of the hospital were literally full of shit, oozing out of the walls and ceiling, slopping over medical equipment.

That's an urgent situation for any hospital, but for Rockledge, it's catastrophic, because Rockledge is a hospital without any hospital supplies. Steward has stiffed the companies that supply "heart valves, urology lasers, Impella catheters, cardiac catheterization balloons, slings for lifting heavier patients, blood and urine test reagents, and most recently, prescription paper." Key medical equipment has been repossessed. So have the Pepsi machines. The hospital cafeteria had its supply of cold cuts repossessed:

https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/1agc1j4/comment/kolicqo/

It's not just Steward's nonpayments that reek of impending doom. Its payments also bear the hallmarks of a scam artist on the brink of blowing off the con. The company recently paid off a vendor with five separate checks for $1m, each drawn on "a random hospital in Utah" (Steward recently walked away from its Utah hospitals; its partners there are suing it for stealing $18m on their way out the door).

This company – which owns 32 hospitals! – has resorted to gambits like sending photos of fake checks to doctors it hasn't paid in months as "proof" that the money was coming (the checks arrived 22 days later).

Steward owes so much money to its employees – $1.66m to just one doctors' group. But the medical staff keep doing their jobs, and are reluctant to speak on the record, thanks to Steward's reputation for vicious retaliation. Those health workers keep showing up to take care of patients, even as the hospital crumbles around them. One clinician told Tcacik: "I watched a bed collapse underneath a [patient] who had just undergone hip surgery."

Rockledge has nine elevators, but only five of them work – the other four have been broken for a year. The hospital's fourth floor has been converted to "a graveyard of broken beds." The sinks are clogged, or filled with foul gunk. There's black mold. Nurses have noted on the maintenance tags that the repair service refuses to attend the hospital until their overdue bills are paid. The fifteen-person on-site maintenance team was cut to just two workers.

Steward is just the latest looting owner of Rockledge. After the Great Financial Crisis, private equity consultants helped sell it to Health Management Associates. The hospital's CEO took home a $10m bonus for that sale and exited; Health Management Associates then quickly became embroiled in a Medicare fraud and kickback scandal. Soon after, Rockledge was passed on to Community Health Systems, who then sold it on to Rockledge.

Steward, meanwhile, was at that time owned by an even bigger private equity giant, Cerberus, which then sold Steward off. That deal was performatively complex and hid all kinds of mischief. Prior to Cerberus's sell-off of Steward, they sold off Steward's real-estate. The buyer was Medical Properties Trust, who gave Cerberus $1.25b for the real-estate: three hospitals in Florida and three more in Ohio. Steward then contracted to operate these hospitals on MPT's behalf, and pay MPT rent for the real-estate.

This complex arrangement was key to siphoning value out of the hospital and to keeping angry creditors at bay – if you can't figure out who owes you money, it's a lot harder to collect on the debt. The scheme was masterminded by Steward founder/CEO Ralph de la Torre. De la Torre is notorious for taking a massive dividend out of the company while it owed $1.4b to its creditors. He bought a $40m yacht with the money.

De la Torre was once feted as a business genius who would "disrupt" healthcare. But as Steward's private jet hops around "Corfu, Santorini, St. Maarten and Antigua" as its hospitals literally crumble, he's becoming less popular. In Massachusetts, politicians have railed against Steward and de la Torre (Governor Healey wants the company to leave the state "as soon as possible").

Florida, by contrast, is much more friendly to Steward. The state Health and Human Services Committee chair Randy Fine is an ardent admirer of hospital privatization and is currently campaigning to sell off the last community hospital in Brevard County. The state inspectors are likewise remarkably tolerant of Steward's little peccadillos. The quasi-governmental agency that inspects hospitals has awarded this shit-and-bat-filled, elevator-free, understaffed rotting hulk "A" grades for quality.

These inspectors jointly represent a mismatched assortment of private and public agencies, dominated by a nonprofit called Leapfrog, the brainchild of Harvard public-health prof Lucian Leape, who founded it in 2000. Leapfrog likes to tout its "transparent" assessment criteria, and Steward are experts at hitting those criteria, spending the exact minimum to tick every box that Leapfrog inspectors use as proxies for overall quality and safety.

This is a pretty great example of Goodhart's Law: "every measurement eventually becomes a target, whereupon it ceases to be a good measurement":

https://xkcd.com/2899/

But despite Steward's increasingly furious creditors and its decaying facilities, the company remains bullish on its ability to continue operations. Medical Properties Trust – the real estate investment trust that is nominally a separate company from Steward – recently hosted a conference call to reassure Wall Street investors that it would be a going concern. When a Bank of America analyst asked MPT's CFO how this could possibly be, given the facility's dire condition and Steward's degraded state, the CFO blithely assured him that the company would get bailouts: "We own hospitals no one wants to see closed."

That's the thing about PE and health-care. The looters who buy out every health-care facility in a region understand that this makes them too big to fail: no matter how dangerous the companies they drain become, local governments will continue to prop them up. Look at dialysis, a market that's been cornered by private equity rollups. Today, if you need this lifesaving therapy, there's a good chance that every accessible facility is owned by a private equity fund that has fired all its qualified staff and ceased sterilizing its needles. Otherwise healthy people who visit these clinics sometimes die due to operator error. But they chug along, because no dialysis clinics is worse that "dialysis clinics where unqualified sadists sometimes kill you with dirty needles":

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-dirty-business-of-clean-blood

The bad news is that private equity has thoroughly colonized the entire medical system. They took hospitals, fired the doctors, then took over the doctors' groups that provided outsource staff to the hospital:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/04/a-mind-forever-voyaging/#prop-bets

It's illegal for private equity companies to own doctors' practices (doctors have to own these), but they obfuscated the crime with a paper-thin pretext that they got away with despite its obvious bullshittery:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/21/profitable-butchers/#looted

The financier who decides whether you live or die depends on an algorithm that literally sets a tolerable level of preventable deaths for the patients trapped in the practice:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/05/any-metric-becomes-a-target/#hca

Private equity also took over emergency rooms and boobytrapped them with "surprise billing" – junk fees that ran to thousands of dollars that you had to pay even if the hospital was in network with your insurer. They made billions from this, and spent a many millions from that booty keeping the scam alive with scare ads:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/21/all-in-it-together/#doctor-patient-unity

The whole health stack is colonized by private equity-backed monopolies. Even your hospital bed!

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/05/hillrom/#baxter-international

Then there's residential care. Private equity cornered many regional markets on nursing homes and turned them into slaughterhouses, places where you go to die, not live:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/23/acceptable-losses/#disposable-olds

The palliative care sector is also captured by private equity. PE bosses hire vast teams of fast-talking salespeople who con vulnerable older people into entering an end-of-life system before they are ready to die. Thanks to loose regulation, the nation is filled with fake hospices that can rake in millions from Medicare while denying all care to their patients (hospice patients don't get life-extending medication or procedures, by definition):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/26/death-panels/#what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-CMS

If you survive this long enough, Medicare eventually tells the hospice that you're clearly not dying and you get kicked off their rolls. Now you have to go through the lengthy bureaucratic nightmare of convincing the system – which was previously informed that you were at death's door – that you are actually viable and need to start getting care again (good luck with that).

If that kills you, guess what? Private equity has rolled up funeral homes up and down the country, and they will scam your survivors just as hard as the medical system that killed you did:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/09/high-cost-of-dying/#memento-mori

The PE sector spent more than a trillion dollars over the past decade buying up healthcare companies, and it has trillions more in "dry powder" allocated for further medical acquisitions. Why not? As the CFO of Medical Properties Trust told that Bank of America analyst last week, when you "own hospitals no one wants to see closed." you literally can't fail, no matter how many people you murder.

The PE sector is a reminder that the crimes people commit for money far outstrip the crimes they commit for ideology. Even the most ideological killers are horrified by the murders their profit-motivated colleagues commit.

Last year, Tkacic wrote about the history of IG Farben, the German company that built Monowitz, a private slave-labor camp up the road from Auschwitz to make the materiel it was gouging Hitler's Wehrmacht on:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben

Farben bought the cheapest possible slaves from Auschwitz, preferentially sourcing women and children. These slaves were worked to death at a rate that put Auschwitz's wholesale murder in the shade. Farben's slaves died an average of just three months after starting work at Monowitz. The situation was so abominable, so unconscionable, that the SS officers who provided outsource guard-labor to Monowitz actually wrote to Berlin to complain about the cruelty.

The Nuremberg trials are famous for the Nazi officers who insisted that they were "just following order" but were nonetheless executed for their crimes. 24 Farben executives were also tried at Nuremberg, where they offered a very different defense: "We had a fiduciary duty to our shareholders to maximize our profits." 19 of the 24 were acquitted on that basis.

PE is committed to an ideology that is far worse than any form of racial animus or other bias. As a sector, it is committed to profit above all other values. As a result, its brutality knows no bounds, no decency, no compassion. Even the worst crimes we commit for hate are nothing compared to the crimes we commit for greed.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/28/5000-bats/retaliation#charnel-house

[sea-owl]

Had a funny thought. You know, in Asian dramas, how sometimes important people just hide out in the family company as a low level, probably minium wage worker for one reason or another? Imagine Violet doing that, but the reason she's doing low-level work is that she can freely spouse hunt for her kids.

Violet technically never has to work a day in her life again if she so wished to. But Violet also has a mission to find the perfect spouse for each of her kids, and in her mind, she's gonna get better insight of potential partners as the janitor to Bridgerton Industries than as Lady Bridgerton. She'll get to learn intresting things that anyone would normally hide around her.

And meet some interesting people Violet did indeed! Like Simon, the young man who runs Hastings Inc., Bridgerton Industries' biggest partner company. He always greeted Violet with a warm smile. Or that nice vet, Dr. Kate Sharma! She was brought in alongside a trainer when the company started using therapy dogs. Her sweet boy Newton always happily ran up to Violet.

There's also the two lovley girls that regularly go to tea with Violet. Sophie, who works down in the company's childcare facility. Oh she's so good with the children. There's also Penelope, who works for Danbury Publishing but sometimes gets loaned out to Bridgerton Industries to help edit things like newsletters and important emails.

Oh, there's also that smart boy Phillip! It's adorable how he'll go on about plants, he even brings flowers he grew himself! He's the brains in his family's company while his brother runs the office politics. If Violet remembers correctly their company and Bridgerton Industries are teaming up to make Bridgerton Industries more environmentally healthy.

Then there are those two, some would say, devilish twins Michael and Michaela. Violet often sees them when their cousin comes to talk business with Anthony. Michael, that charmer always had a few words to make Violet blush. Though Michaela really isn't any better. Violet is and yet isn't surprised they're the heads of PR over in their family's company.

The last two Violet really likes are these two interns. Gareth, well, Violet isn't sure where he's interning. She knows it's either at Danbury Publishing or Hastings Inc., maybe both? She knows she sees him often enough with Lady Danbury and Simon, and knows he's in school to study archeology. Lucy is Kate's little intern who works more as an assistant while she's in school to studying for her degree. They'll happily chat with Violet if they see her around on one of their visits.

Violet just knows they're the ones for her children. Now, how to get them to see?

[usedtobethelegendcreator]

This starts off weird, but hear me out.

Today, as I was watching a video, minding my own business, I heard someone call Sir Pentious, of all people, an Overlord.

That got me thinking. Specifically, thinking about that Overlord meeting in the third episode.

Because Carmilla doesn’t say it’s an Overlord meeting. She addresses the others as “Hell’s Sovereign Overlords”.

This is important, because in the pilot, Cherri Bomb and Angel Dust have a turf war with Sir Pentious. An Overlord, by Hazbin Hotel rules, seems to be defined as someone that owns other people’s souls. I don’t know if the Egg Boiz were ever people, but if they were, that would make Sir Pentious an Overlord. Technically.

But, of course, these itty-bitty Overlords are nothing compared to powerhouses like the Vees and Zestial. So, what if these little Overlords sold their souls to bigger ones? That would make the bigger ones…Sovereign Overlords. The biggest of the bunch, the powerhouses, essentially the ruling committee of the Pride Ring. It’s not like Lucifer was doing anything.

So, that would mean that there are, in total, nine Sovereign Overlords:

Carmilla Carmine, Zestial, Rosie, Zeezi, Alastor, the Vees, and that bluish fire guy in a suit.

Carmilla mentions that, together, they own millions of souls. Millions. These aren’t your everyday Overlords, these are the big boys.

You know what that means?

It means that, when Alastor became the hotel’s facility manager, the hotel got ultimate political protection. Charlie is almost never taken seriously by anyone, possibly because Lucifer never does anything. But Alastor? He’s a Sovereign Overlord. And, on top of that, he’s the Radio Demon. There are still posters up that say to not fuck with him. That might be one of the reasons Alastor kicks Mimzy out. He can’t have loan sharks showing up at the hotel under his protection, not without some complicated Overlord politics getting involved. It would also be a reflection on his reputation, and he can’t have that either.

The hotel has only been attacked on-screen four times in the whole show. The first three times, the attackers had no idea the Radio Demon lived there. Sir Pentious clearly didn’t know until after the coat-ripping (tentacles aren’t something the Radio Demon is known for, but the antlers are), and the loan sharks were after Mimzy. The fourth time was the Extermination.

This sudden decrease in violence in the most violent place in the universe seems strange, unless you take into account political protection. The Princess lives there (not that anyone seems to care), and no one wants the Radio Demon to fuck them up.

…Oh. Ohhh. THAT’S why Husk, an Overlord, sold his soul to a Sovereign Overlord like Alastor to keep his—ohhhhh.

Husk still has his card powers…which means he probably still owns some souls. If this is all true (I honestly have no clue, it’s all theoretical), then that makes what Husk tells Alastor in “Dad Beat Dad” even weirder. Because Overlords selling their souls to Sovereign Overlords isn’t usually a big deal. But he made the deal to keep his power. And he says “You may own my soul, but I ain’t your fucking pet.”

Husk had assumed he’d be mostly left alone, like other Overlords after selling their souls, to do his own thing. And, since Alastor seems to mostly be a loner, he probably was. I mean, when we first see Husk, he’s gambling—and he’s about to win the whole pot.

Right before Alastor summons Niffty and Husk, he says he could “cash in a few favors” to help out.

The favor Husk owes him is the deal Husk made with him to keep his power.

Oh my fucking god.

(EDIT: I can’t believe I miscounted the Overlords.)

[flonautilus]

Angel Dust design for Reset Resort AU! This was actually made a while ago, but I've been putting off posting it...

In this AU, Angel is a celebrity performer at the resort, under a temporary alteration to his contact. At the same time, he also attends Charlie's sessions, though... Why bother putting too much effort into that when there's other things to enjoy?

Main RR!AU introduction post

He's still under a contract with Valentino here, but he's basically "on loan" from Val to Vox (though Vox is operating solo for the resort, he still borrowed some staff from both vel and val for it). That does mean a break from the porn business (and Val), but his fame does numbers for the resort! He hosts/stars in multiple kinds of entertainment for the residents, from game shows/drag shows, to light dinner music and dancing; all meant to get residents more comfortable and attract more sinners, though how effective this is for redemption is up for question.

As part of Angel's contract, he also has to attend therapy/redemption sessions with Charlie, but he considers that more of a side note to performing and of course, enjoying the facilities available -- who's passing up buffet and free drinks, hm? Still, Charlie considers him one of the most promising sinners, and his initial attitude has softened...

While he's pretty much the same abrasive Angel with the porn star persona, Angel's a little more relaxed and chill from not being around Val all the time. Though he dislikes Vox, he feels secure in sneaking barbs at him in front of the princess; after all, Vox wouldn't dare do anything to ruin his reputation for Charlie. Valentino's unpredictable appearances, however, puts a strain on his laid back days.

Angel doesn't truly believe in redemption at all (who does?), and considers his stint more of a fortunate break. In some ways he puts in way less stock into redemption than canon, having less of a pressing urge. Nonetheless, he still attends Charlie's sessions (mostly), and it's hard not to be influenced by her earnest efforts to understand and help them...

(image without text below)

[qqueenofhades]

Do you have any idea where all the money in education IS going? People talk about administrators, but their percentage of the overall budget seems lowish? Facilities are expensive, but often paid for with bequests, no? Where the hell is all the money going?

The same place it's going in every other capitalistic American enterprise: to senior executives, endowments, and other places that decidedly do not "trickle down" (because you know, it never does). See my many previous posts about how college costs skyrocketed starting in the 1980s and post-secondary higher education was transformed from something in which most of the costs were governmentally subsidized to something expected to be paid (at higher and higher levels) either privately out of the consumer's pocket or from thousands of dollars in student loans. Because you guessed it, Reaganomics.

I can tell you one place it absolutely is NOT going, i.e. salaries of faculty and staff, at least in the less capitalistically sexy fields of study. The university where I work never hurts for money in the business and law schools, but because I am in the humanities/education/history, yeah, our department's budget is not in great shape. Of course, yes, COVID hit the higher-education sector like crazy (as it did everywhere else) and universities haven't figured how to recover from that, but just as with the rest of America, it's a model that is designed to funnel the vast majority of profits, i.e. from skyrocketing student tuition rates and other increased fees, to the highly compensated senior leadership and very little to the academics who do the work that makes the place, you know, RUN.

This is a bugaboo for both me and every other academic I know, because (again, just as with the rest of capitalism) it doesn't HAVE to be this way. I shouldn't be trying to manage a department that has to rely heavily on adjunct faculty every quarter and doesn't have a sustainable long-term scheduling or research model, because we're so badly understaffed with core tenure-track faculty and they won't let us hire any more, while constantly cutting our budget and giving us laughable raises (mine, after getting sterling performance reviews across the board, was a whole... 72 extra cents an hour. I wish I was joking). There is money tied up in the institution and the establishment (and as noted, I work at a well-regarded and highly-ranked private university, so it's not a matter of not having enough), but the system distributes it in a way that is inequitable and results in enforced scarcity, especially in the humanities. It's not that there isn't money to pay us fairly, it's just that they have chosen not to, because they exist in the same capitalist system as the rest of the west.

This is why there have been strikes by graduate and early-career academics in both the UK and US (I have worked/studied/taught in both places, and they're both BAD for paying lower-level academics and even established-career academics), because they simply do not pay us enough to live on or build a career on (by a long shot, ESPECIALLY if you're the only person in your household and don't have shared expenses with a partner/roommate/several roommates). This is after most of us have several advanced degrees and the debt resulting from such. We get burned out, we can't make a living in this field, we leave, and it's hollowed out even further. So. Yeah.

[finaqofinance]

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[zvaigzdelasas]

[Nikkei is Private Japanese Media]

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) came at the "right time" for boosting Africa's development, a top African Union (AU) official told Nikkei Asia, as he played down concerns that it was a debt trap for poor countries. Last week, Beijing said it would ramp up the decade-old infrastructure drive to build ports, roads and railways by pushing into the digital realm, as the multibillion-dollar program becomes China's key foreign policy tool for influence in developing nations. Chinese President Xi Jinping's renewed focus on industrialization, agriculture and talent development was also just what the continent needs, said Albert Muchanga, head of trade and industry for the African Union Commission, the AU's Ethiopia-based secretariat.

"China will continue BRI, at the same time there is a complementary effort to support us in those three areas. ... Both came at the right time," Muchanga said in an interview on the sidelines of last week's Turkey-Africa Business and Economic Forum in Istanbul. "Africa was making massive investments in developing infrastructure, connectivity, telecommunication systems as well as energy facilities [when BRI launched] and that helped quite a lot." "We need to start the process of adding value on the continent to push industrialization," added the former Zambian diplomat.[...]

Asked if Western powers were being drawn to Africa in competition with China, Muchanga replied, "Well, they are reacting to it, which is good." He also questioned growing criticism that the BRI's massive infrastructure loans and an opaque structure have saddled some recipient countries with unsustainable debt. Some $76.8 billion worth of Chinese overseas loans were renegotiated or written off between 2020 and 2022, according to U.S. research firm Rhodium Group, compared to $17 billion in the preceding three years. "When you discuss with the scholars from China and other people, I think there's an acknowledgment that if we demonstrate greater transparency, I think some of the allegations that are made may not be well founded," Muchanga said, without elaborating.

AU member nation ministers will gather in November to adopt a critical minerals strategy, the official said, adding that the commission is working on a document for approving its new leaders at a summit scheduled for February. "We are responding to the issue of green transition by coming up with a critical minerals strategy," he said, "but the message is to come and produce at source to contribute to decarbonization."

16 Oct 23

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Here's an unusual property for work & play- basically you're buying a giant 40 foot diameter sphere in the desert of Yucca, Arizona. The dome is currently a ''UFO museum'' open to the public. BUT- A new project with storage, rv park, and an MX Professional Park for all ages will be developed right next to this ONE OF A KIND FACILITY! $1.375M. Terms are cash (?) or the owner will carry the loan. (So, in other words, it doesn't qualify for a bank loan.)

The property has a C-store and a fully operational restaurant called ''Rocket Burger.''

They don't specify if the things in the museum come with it.

I don't know, there doesn't seem to be much in here. A few displays, t-shirts for sale, souvenirs, and a couple arcade games.

A new exhibit under construction.

The Rocket Burger facility is nice. It has a full professional kitchen.

I don't know, it looks like a failing business. Maybe if and when they build the other facilities it will pick up, but right now it looks pretty dead.

The property measures 2.19 acres. There is some kind of large business and housing development nearby.

But, the rest is vastly desolate.

[meret118]

Without more funding, the agency may be forced to suspend rebuilding projects and focus on life-saving operations.

. . .

The rapid spending — which is likely to accelerate as aid flows to states pulverized by Hurricanes Helene and Milton — soon will force the Federal Emergency Management Agency to restrict spending unless Congress approves additional funding.

“I’m going to have to evaluate how quickly we’re burning the remaining dollars in the Disaster Relief Fund,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said Wednesday during a news briefing, hours before Milton began tearing into Florida’s Gulf Coast and spawning floods, tornadoes and power outages across the state.

Under the spending restrictions, FEMA would cut off funding for disaster-related rebuilding projects nationwide and reserve its money for life-saving operations during disasters. The cutoff often halts major repairs to roads, sewer plants and water-treatment facilities.

. . .

President Joe Biden has sought additional FEMA funding since last October but Congress has ignored the request.On Wednesday, a group of House Democrats urged Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to “immediately reconvene” the chamber “so that it can pass robust disaster relief spending.

”The Democrats, led by Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, said money is needed for both FEMA and a Small Business Administration program that gives low-interest loans to homeowners, renters and businesses whose property was damaged by a disaster.But Johnson has said that he does not plan to reconvene the House before the election to address disaster funding.

-----

Republicans are deliberately causing FEMA to fail so they can lie and blame Biden Harris for it. They don't give a shit if it ruins lives or kills people.