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Posted on 08/30/2007 8:41:10 AM PDT by InvisibleChurch
Lake Charles is on the other side of the state near the Texas border and was beat up pretty badly from Rita but we are doing just fine! It’s growing like gangbusters here.
Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
What specific dispute do you have with the numbers?
That's true, but we have to remember that it was George Bush that led the charge for rebuilding New Orleans with federal fund.
For starters, the fact that there isn't $425,000 in my bank account.
The CBO has documented a figure south of $100B, as of August 1. That sum is spread over 3 states. A big chunk of it is claims on the national flood insurance program, for which policyholders pay premiums (nice of the govt. to count that). Aditionally, since the majority of the disaster in NOLA was caused by the Feds in the first place, it seems fair that they should pay to fix the consequences of their screw-ups.
Coastal Louisiana annually puts $10 Billion into the Federal treasury from oil & gas royalties, alone. Further, for years the State of Louisiana has been owed payment of a portion of those royalties to address our vanishing coastline and wetlands (caused by the drilling which produces the royalties), and which has been our protection against storms); but neither the Clinton nor Bush administrations signed off on the bill since Congress passed the law in the mid-1990s. When our senators and representatives in DC have requested funds for rebuilding infrastructure, hospitals and schools, they have been short-changed. Apart from the crook Jefferson, we have a junior delegation without much clout, and the funds are going to rebuild Iraq and to pet projects of politicians elsewhere.
This is a man-made disaster: the Federal government created the welfare-dependent underclass. The Federal Government designed and built shoddy flood control structures. The levees were built during the Johnson administration and maintained through Bush 2. Both parties have given us the finger over the decades, but it is especially galling to write a huge check to the IRS in April and see most of it go elsewhere, rather than to our own community; especially since the Feds caused this mess.
Compounding the problem are the insurance companies who are fighting the payout of claims tooth and nail. Two years after the storm, my parents have not seen a dime of the funds supposedly allocated to reimburse homeowners for the Federal Flood (my father died in February). My wife's parents are not back in their house; they have received -0- from their insurance company. Finally, they had to file suit. This is a common situation. The insurance companies are now charging staggering premiums and making record profits. This has stalled the housing industry, which, in turn, adversely affects the local economy, forcing our friends and neighbors to move away. Such is the mendacity and greed of our way of life.
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