200 Billion! You're Kidding, Right???

This Post first ran in November of 2005.






Occassionally it is interesting to go back and look at posts written on subjects that have a way of cycling back, or subjects that continue to dominate the news or current events. Such is the case with the costs of rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina struck last year.

Just a few days ago we entered the new Hurricane Season for 2006. The rebuilding along the Gulf Coast isn't even near the half way point and once again we are looking at the very strong possibility of more devestation to the same area. Why? Isn't the definition of insanity "continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different outcome each time"? Does that apply to New Orleans? We know the city is doomed, yet we continue to rebuild it in the same sinkhole, which, we now know, is sinking even faster than we thought!

Let's go back and see what our take was, on this, last November:
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200 Billion! You’re kidding, right?

Where are we going to get 200 billion dollars? That’s the question most often asked these days. The 200 billion being the estimated recovery costs for the damage done to the Gulf States as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

I happen to think the actual costs will be much more than the estimated 200 billion. If you have ever remodeled an old house, you find that one problem leads to another, and another, ad infinitum. So, The US is about to remodel New Orleans and the other Gulf States sustaining damage as a result of Katrina. A good deal of the damage is not viewable… yet. That will come. When it does, the 200 billion is going to look very small, indeed.

So where DO we get the 200 billion? Why from you and me! That’s where!

I know, no more tax increase! My sentiments exactly. But we have no choice.

Now, when I say we have no choice, I don’t mean that as sentimental Americans we must rebuild the unique city of New Orleans. I mean… Federal Law dictates that we pay for it. Yep. The “little ole” Stafford Act declares that we will pay for it. I took the opportunity to take a look at the Act, itself. It can be found at:
http://www.fema.gov/library/stafact.shtm

Take a look for yourself. It is very illuminating.

Now couple the Stafford Act with the Urban Homestead Act found at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c106:S.+485:

…. and we have a formula for a drain on the treasury of the United States for many, many years to come.

So, Mr. and Ms. American… open your wallets and prepare to spend!

I can see the battles forming up, already, in the Congress between the fiscal conservatives … and …everybody else. To dare question the spending is to be called heartless, and bigoted, and racists and, well, you get the idea. To unquestioningly spend the vast amounts of money that will be required is setting yourself up to be referred to as” spending like a drunken sailor” and that’s just the epithet I can print! Political careers will be made and ended over this disaster.

Now, maybe it’s just me, but I sort of have to question the spending of large sums of money, more particularly… the WAY it is spent. If the American taxpayer is to be expected to pay the bills for this massive Urban Renewal Project shouldn’t we have some say in the way the “urban is renewed”? I mean, certainly we will not rebuild New Orleans in that sinkhole it currently occupies… Will we? If we do, the next time this happens… and it will happen again… it will cost us 500 billion dollars.

American taxpayers should demand a say in how the Gulf Coast is to be rebuilt. And, while we’re at it, let us reconsider building, and insuring building, on our coasts… period. Maybe the US government should own the first ¼ mile of the shoreline, from the water’s edge, and declare it a National Park, or some such.

Something must be done. We cannot continue to sustain damage, and the costs of those damages, as a result of ill-considered construction along our coasts.

We now have our 18th storm this season churning along… headed for the US coast. Climatologic data tells us we are at the beginning of a 30-year cycle during which the number of storms will increase. Now is the time to consider our options for our US coasts for the future. Taking no measures to off set the costs to Americans, for the folly of a relatively small number of us, is unthinkable.

“Longstreet”