Business

Former ‘car czar’ Steven Rattner says insurance payouts to Sandy victims were nothing more than bailouts

Former “car czar” Steven Rattner, said yesterday that payouts from federal flood insurance policies to victims of Hurricane Sandy were nothing more than bailouts — like those that saved banks and auto makers after the 2008 financial crisis.

Rattner, who engineered the government rescue of GM, made the startling comment at a conference at the New York Stock Exchange.

Asked what the next government bailout would be, Rattner said, “This may sound cold,” before explaining it is already happening in the form of “insurance that will compensate home owners who just lost their homes” in Sandy.

Rattner noted that the Uncle Sam, in providing flood insurance in areas where no private insurer would take the risk, was bailing out home owners.

This is despite the fact that home owners in areas like the Rockaways pay for government flood insurance.