‘Who Pays for Turning Tide?’

I am always amused by the idiocy of people who think they are stronger than the forces of nature. The outcome, of course, is predictable. So that second home owners, real estate developers and hotel operators can build along the shoreline, the public must suffer the costs.

And just what are those costs? In Suffolk County, N.Y., it is $120 million. In Carolina and Kure Beach, S.C., it is $24 million. The list goes on. And, what for? To “stabilize” the beach! Any fool who has spent 30 seconds watching the waves move sand around the beach knows there is no seawall or structure that will hold back the ocean.

For those corporations, individuals, or municipalities who have been stupid enough to build on the beach, buy homes there, or develop an economy based upon buildings along the tide line, I can feel no sympathy. Should they be “bailed out” by government? I say, most emphatically, no! I, for one, am tired of paying for other people’s mistakes. Especially when these people have been warned of the dangers of their folly.

PETER STEKEL

Wrightwood