Posted by The Crux |
Yesterday was the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and President Bush was in New Orleans to mark the occasion. There wasn't much cause for celebration, as reflected by an article in today's Washington Post titled: "Bush Says Gulf Coast Isn't Forgotten, But
Cynicism Abounds On Katrina Anniversary."
Cynicism is understandable, given the current state affairs in the Big (not so) Easy:
"Only two-thirds of the pre-Katrina population of New Orleans has returned to the city, and storm damage remains visible. Only 40 percent of the city's public school students have returned, although sales tax receipts have climbed to 84 percent of pre-storm levels" (WaPo).
Last week, we learned that not enough money was alloted to rebuilding the gulf region and that much of what was alloted hasn't even been spent yet -- i.e., the money hasn't made it to the people who really need it. For example, a Louisiana program that gives rebuilding grants to homeowners who had inadequate insurance has sent checks to 44,000 homeowners, despite having received more than 184,000 applications and having billions of dollars in the bank (WaPo).
Ten days ago, we learned that post-Katrina tax breaks will be going to investors seeking to provide luxury condos to college football fans in Alabama.
Two weeks ago, we learned that New Orleans' storm-protection system (scheduled for completion in 2011) can't protect the city from another big storm.
A year ago, we learned that 19 rebuilding-contracts worth almost $9 billion were "plagued by waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement" (BN-Politics, citing the GAO).
The upshot: if the people running the agencies involved in post-Katrina rebuilding really put their minds to it, the result could be a more efficient (and effective) rebuilding effort.
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