I'm all for a real discussion to bring your NO back to life. Here's some starters. The city needs to immmediately vitalize three sectors, tourism, the oil industry and shipping. All this social BS will do nothing. NO must become a powerful economic engine and fast. Only proactive, efficient, honest, aggressive business folks can make that happen. The politicians, Republican, Democrat and Black leaders are absolutely useless. Once the economic engine starts, the folks and the jobs will materialize. The city must demographically change. It cannot function effectively as poverty central, which NO Black leadership in concert with the Democrat Party have put in place. The keep 'em chained in the welfare state mantra is not healthy for the folks and the city. Some of these poor folks that have migrated into Texas and other states can't read or write, except at very basic levels. And... they cannot communicate effectively or become effective in the general work force. My point is: A whole "new' approach is necessary, and it will be quite an undertaking. So, when these Louisiana folks lament at my ranting, rest assured, I only do it to bring forward the very difficult task at hand for the citizens of Louisiana and New Orleans. Objectively, Mary Landrieu, Kathleen Blanco, Mayor Nagin, William Jefferson ain't gonna cut the mustard, no way!!!
There's where you are not correct. NO is below sea level, below the level of the Mississippi River and below the level of Lake Ponchartrain. No insurer will write flood insurance on new projects. Unless the feds provide some guarantee of flood insurance--which they know will someday be another big hit to taxpayers all over the country--much of NO will not be rebuilt.
So the big public issue, which noone talks about, is whether the feds should provide flood insurance for the rebuilding and if so, should they limit the flood insurance to higher places in NO (like the French Quarter) or should US taxpayers foot that bill for the whole city?
It's the same issue as in Malibu. No insurer will write fire insurance for the 3 million dollar homes there that, with some regularity, burn down. The feds end up paying for the damage. Does that make sense?
From a cost benefit analysis, the port of NO is located very strategically. But ports are now computerized and it would not require a city the size of NO to support the port. Wouldn't everyone be better served by not moving a bunch of poor people back into known flood zones at huge expense so they can be flooded out and killed again?