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Those with the wherewithal to rebuild have already done so elsewhere. They are not coming back. I love it where I am now. And I have no intention of returning.

S4T, I view New Orleans from a less immediate perspective than you do. We left nearly 20 years ago. The events that caused us to leave were an irretrievably broken and corrupt government, an imicable business climate, rampant crime/homicide rate, the imposition of a gross receipts tax [LA], the imposition of a city inheritance tax [N.O.] and many more personal things.
Speaking as an ex-pat, I can understand your disillusionment and anger. We did not lose our home ... so I can only empathize with your loss through my experience supporting and housing friends who did.
All of that said, I can only admire those stalwart, brave souls who see New Orleans as an opportunity and who are not only willing, but also eager, to be part of its resurrection.
In time, your anger will subside. I hope you will find peace of mind wherever you are now. We did ... and it is worth a great deal. Good luck to you. Please keep posting to these threads. We value your insight and opinions.

Thank you for your kind and supportive words.

I come from a prominent family in New Orleans. I wont say which for obvious reasons. So I know some of the movers and shakers there, or who used to be there - those with the wherewithal to help rebuild the city. And though my evidence is only anecdotal, no one I know, or anyone they know, is going back, for the reasons I have listed. And since they have been forced by the depraved incompetence and ruthless greed of little men to move elsewhere, they are already making new lives for themselves there. As one would expect from those types of people. They, as am I, are happy where we are now, the loss of property not withstanding.

BTW. I was there for the entire disaster. I thought we had gotten through it unscathed. Well, with the exception of a couple of tons of tree on the back of my house. There was hardly a puddle of standing water. That was until I saw the wall of water coming down the street. I knew we were in serious trouble then. It wasn't like a wave. It was a whole body of water which moved at once, like it had a purpose. One could not have outrun it on foot. It wasn't just water either. There was debris in it, whole trees that acted like battering rams.

As you probably know, it is an old tradition in the Deep South that some men stay behind in situations like these. It is fortunate that I did. I pulled two women and two children out of the flood waters. They were in serious trouble. They were fleeing the 17th street breach, heading right into the London avenue breach. They didn't have a prayer. I thank God I was there. I dried them off and fed them. They were in shock. They just sat there and gazed out the window, not saying a word. Then when the rescue boats came to gather them (my second story patio was now a boat launch) they broke down and cried. It brings tears to my eyes just to recollect it.

I would suggest to you, that time is no substitute for justice.

Freegards, S4T.