John Gibson: FOX's Abrasive Clown Prince
Reported by Marie Therese - December 24, 2004
(Since this post is belated, it will remain open for comment for two days, after which it will be back-posted to 12/29/04.) There has been some discussion back and forth on one of Melanie's posts about comments that may or may not have been made by Big Story host, John Gibsom last Tuesday. In an effort to set the matter to rest, here is the transcription of Gibson's exact comments, made to Business Correspondent Dagen McDowell on the topics of insurance, taxes, Iraq, Sweden and hotels.
GIBSON: Is this an insurance deal? Are we gonna hear that the insurance companies are on the ropes because of the tsunami?
McDOWELL: Not really, John. We're talking about billions and billions of dollars in damage. One estimate today said thirteen and a half billion. But only a small part of that is covered by insurance. In fact some insurance analysts think it would be less than $5 billion covered by insurance. Now, remember, you look back at the hurricanes this summer, the four hurricanes this summer that hit Florida, those were insured losses that hit over $20 billion,so it's really very, very small. You're just talking about, really, the travel industry in places like Thailand that was insured.
GIBSON: Well, what I'm hearing, what we just heard at the top of the show, is that the US is expected to chip in to help resonctruction, as if this were Iraq, as if we had gone to war there and shot up a bunch of buildings. This is the travel industry, major big hotel companies, SOFATEL(?), all those, their hotels got crunched .... how is it that United States taxpayers are going to be convinced "You have to build hotes in Phuket"?
McDOWELL: OK. Look. Let's clear this up. What the United States is pledging and what the world is pledging right now - already you've got more than $100 million pledged by nations around the world for relief efforts. This money that is going into these hard hit countries right now.
GIBSON: It's just for the stuff we see on the screen. [Clip of clean up efforts.]
McDOWELL: Right. It's for clean water, medication, blankets, clothing, initial shelters. It is really just to make sure these people are fed, clothed and safe at this time. If these hotels have insurance, then they will be rebuilt with insurance money, not taxpayer dollars.
GIBSON: Yeah, but are we gonna be looking at - you know - WTO, which the US is a participant in or the World Bank suddently confronted by, you know, Thailand, Indonesia, India, the countries that got hit and say "We need, we need dough and we need buckets of it to fix all this so Swedes can go on vacation in Phuket again"?
McDOWELL: Well, eventually, when you're talking about major reconstruction like the roads and the infrastructure in these countries, they will have to go to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for grants and loans. That's where that money will come from. The money we're talking about right now - the massive aid that is coming together around the globe, that is just to make sure these people are safe, clothed and fed.
