A policy alternative

This is something that I've been thinking about for a while and the events in the Gulf of Mexico have made me think about it more seriously of late. I think that there should be a federal property tax which funds homeowner and renters insurance. I don't want to discuss all of the complications associated with implementing such a policy at this time, but I will provide a few details. First, the tax rate would be slightly higher in areas of higher risk for catastrophic damage. One of the benefits of variable pricing is that the higher rate in one locality may deter some from moving to those high risk areas. Second, this new tax would be accompanied by a generous and refundable tax credit for low-income renters and homeowners. In addition to funding insurance, this tax could be spent on things that would be justified as prevention activities such as low-cost mass public transportation. While this would probably be unpopular and hell to administrate, it is clear that the status quo leaves a very large portion of the population to bear a much larger share of the risk of natural disasters.