Easier way for the Big Easy

So, President and Mrs. Bush went down to New Orleans to commemorate the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina...Here's a pop quiz: How much money has Uncle Sam spent...since Hurricane Katrina ripped the place apart?

The grand total is $127 billion (including tax relief). That's right: a monstrous $127 billion. Of course, not a single media story has highlighted this gargantuan government-spending figure. But that number came straight from the White House...

This is an outrage. The entire GDP of the state of Louisiana is only $141 billion, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. So the cash spent there nearly matches the entire state gross GDP....And to make matters worse, by all accounts New Orleans ain't even fixed....Where in the hell did all this money go?...the White House fact sheet says $24 billion has been used to build houses and schools, repair damaged infrastructure and provide victims with a place to live. But isn't everyone complaining about the lack of housing?

Perhaps all this money should have been directly deposited in the bank accounts of the 300,000 people living in New Orleans. All divvied up, that $127 billion would come to $425,000 per person. After thanking Uncle Sam for their sudden windfall, residents could head to Southern California and buy homes now on sale thanks to the subprime mortgage crisis and bid up sagging house prices there.

The fact sheet says $7.1 billion went to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild the levees; the U.S. Department of Education spent $2 billion on local schools; the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries has awarded more than $2.5 million...The administration provided $16.7 billion as part of the largest housing-recovery program in U.S. history...

Meanwhile...New Orleans has earned the distinct honor of becoming the murder capital of the world...

“Hard to avoid the conclusion that you and others here believe the amount of money New Orleans has received is insufficient. Or no?”

No, my only intent was to clear up the ongoing incorrect notions that some people have as to where all those many government billions are going.

“So, how much more do you think you need, and what amount would be fair? Or has enough been provided? I am not being facetious, I am being serious.”

I appreciate that you are being serious about this, but truthfully I don’t know how to respond. I am not exactly sure just how much federal money is still available and what big projects may lie ahead to be completed. Although we have much more to do,and the city is far from being “back to normal”, much has in fact been done. For instance the levees are slowly being rebuilt and after lots of hassles with insurance companies, many people are rebuilding their homes. Some schools are up and running as well. The medical situation is still somewhat dicey. Many doctors are gone and the number of hospital beds are greatly reduced from pre-Katrina numbers, but we’re making headway and at this point that’s what counts. The news media tends to dwell on the most negative aspects of the storm’s aftermath.Those are the stories that draw the viewers and sell the papers. There is much more going on here than crime and French Quarter revelry.

“And I am still wondering what you think about the idea of setting up New Orleans as a tax-free zone and letting the private sector have a go at the problem?”

I do think that the idea of making us a tax free zone is a good one and could go along way in bringing business and, of course, jobs to the city. No income tax for a while would put more jingle in everybody’s jeans and that would stimulate the local economy too. Since we are two years out and Washington hasn’t proposed such an idea, I guess chances are pretty slim that this will happen.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.