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Some private companies are keeping people paid. The ones in deep trouble are the small businesses, the people in the service industries, mom and pop stores. Their clients, customers, buildings, etc are gone.

And people are so disdainful of the "poor". Alot of those poor are the people who keep that city going,,low level menial jobs, mopping floors, cleaning, sweeping, counter work. The city cannot run without them. And their housing is decimated.

You don't have to convince me. It's hard to imagine that their home, their place of work and all their friends and families' homes and work are simply not there anymore. Plus, a lot still don't know where all their family member's are.

It's an incredibly bad situation and I'm glad to see that local and nationwide businesses are chipping in as well as my Church and no doubt everyone else's Church. It's nice to see Americans helping other Americans.

Therein lies the rub. The upscale resturants need workers, but the workers they need are the very people who's homes have been destroyed and the people have been scattered to the four winds.

All the while you have Jessie Jackson running around saying don't put them into trailers and Nagin saying ya'll come back right now while not saying where these worker-bees are supposed to live.

Personally, I don't see how they can 'safely' re-inhabit the 9th ward it's so contaminated. I saw a scientist on a program (last week) who said the 9th needs to be returned to marsh land to help protect the levees from this even happening in the future.

I think what LA really needs is strong leadership and it's sorely lacking and all of you are paying the price. It is true many beautiful areas of Mississippi was decimated, too.... yet, the Governor of Mississippi is saying the State will take the lead in the rebuild and they don't need billions and billions of dollars from the feds to do it (he thinks maybe $39 billion -- but nothing like $250 billion).

I think initially getting Donald Trump down there was a joke, but I'm beginning to think it might actually be a good idea.

One other comment -- and none of this is meant as a slam against your LA residents -- something has got to be done about the police department in New Orleans. For years people have heard about the crime and the corrupt department, but now it's been so in the face of the American Public that for the city to really come back people are going to have to know they are safe to visit... ala New York City before and after Rudi... before crime was rampant and visitors were great targets, during his administration tourists grew to feel safe and the numbers surged as a result.