All that money being spent and guess how much is going to Katrina victims

[Genx87]

Katrina is such a classic example of govt inefficiency. Nearly 3.5 years later and the place still has problems and people are still living in trailers provided for by the govt. I have a feeling some of these people will be in those trailers for decades to come.

 

[ccbadd]

By the way, the failed levy's on Lake Pontchartrain is what flooded New Orleans. City officials and state officials were warned of this and even collected tax money to repair the levy system but the money was spent elsewhere. New Orleans is prepared for a hurricane and should be rebuilt and the levy system repaired, but the money should come from New Orleans. As has been stated earlier, the port industries there produce a lot of money and that should fund these repairs, not farmers in the Midwest or miners in the South or anyone else in this country. Fema needs to return to what it was, an agency that responded to request for assistance generated by Governors. They are not legally allowed to move in until that request has been made. They are also supposed to be short term and 4 years is not short term! The emergency was 4 years ago, there is no emergency now. With that being said, Katrina did provide a huge stimulus for the area is still is in reconstruction so any further stimulus should go elsewhere.

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
We must have a lot of $200k/year earners on this board.

Otherwise why are you complaining? Your taxes are going down under Obama.

Public debt's still going up, however. Seriously, why doesn't Obama give the rich a huge tax cut as well? If the Dems are going to join the GOP in massively screwing over future generations, might as well go whole-hog.

 

[NeoV]

a few thoughts

ProfJ - most people's taxes have in fact been cut - are you telling me that a McCain presidency right now wouldn't have produced a similar stimulus bill?

I agree with Genx - those people that are still in trailers from Katrina are going to be there for some time - and with little or no effort on their part to get out, what's stopping them?

Finally - tons of money was designated to be spent on cleaning up the mess and rebuilding things after Katrina, and much of that remains unspent. Mississippi has done quite a bit of rebuilding, while there are still entire neighborhoods in New Orleans that are sitting and rotting.

The criticism of Bush in regards to Katrina wasn't how much money he spent or sent to help people - it was the way the problem was handled once the storm hit - people left in the Superdome and Convention Center with no food/water brought to them - "you're doing a heck of a job Brownie" - remember that? I don't recall anyone saying that enough money wasn't being spent - it was the few days immediately after the storm that brought the hailstorm of criticism.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: palehorse
Don't worry, this won't be the last "stimulus package"... trust me.

Someone needs to put up a counter on the web that shows Bush's total spending, and a timer to see just how long it takes Obama to blow past him! At this rate, even with Bush's out-of-control spending habits, that shouldn't take long at all...

Just posted a thread about a new spending bill.

 

[Modelworks]

Katrina victims apparently need to call their governor.
Louisiana governor is refusing the stimulus money on principle.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has announced that he will decline stimulus money specifically targeted at expanding state unemployment insurance coverage, becoming the first state executive to officially refuse any part of the federal government?s payout to states.

In a statement, Jindal, who is slated to give the Republican response to President Barack Obama?s message to Congress on Tuesday, expressed concern that expanding unemployment insurance coverage would lead to increased unemployment insurance taxes later on, Politico.com reported.

 

[MovingTarget]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: MovingTarget
Wow, there is a massive hate-on for New Orleans here. Why continue to rebuild every time the San Andreas gets a little jittery, OK gets a little windy, or NY just plane has a bad day? C'mon. Get real. New Orleans exists where it does because it is the perfect, logical location for a massive port on the Gulf of Mexico with access to most of the nations navagable river systems and the world's oceans. Some of the land is above sea level, where it was originally built upon, but the usefulness of the port has grown way beyond the amount of high ground available. Besides, this was a man-made disaster. Katrina didn't even hit New Orleans. Don't blame them.

Should we be paying for individual citizens 4 years later? I think not, but we are crazy not to invest in rebuilding its infrastructure to protect itself from future storms and improve living conditions. New Orleans is simply too useful to this nation. If you cannot see that, then you are either extremely short-sighted or ignorant of its history.

My points are about state-leeches, not the efficacy of New Orleans as a city. I don't know how many years these useless tits need to get up off their ass. It's been several so far.

We must have a lot of $200k/year earners on this board.

Otherwise why are you complaining? Your taxes are going down under Obama.

Damn, you really are short-sighted.

Yeah, I see. My comments were more directed to the "why rebuild at all grumble grumble grumble" crowd. I aqree with you though, the time for individual aid has passed, but it will take quite a long time to actually rebuild/upgrade the infrastructure. There is a pretty big difference between doling out rent checks and rebuilding levees.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Katrina is such a classic example of govt inefficiency. Nearly 3.5 years later and the place still has problems and people are still living in trailers provided for by the govt. I have a feeling some of these people will be in those trailers for decades to come.

why should people move? they are getting rent paid so why should they move? hell i would love 4 years of free rent.


you are right they won't move. at least until the goverment tells them they aren't paying for them anymore (then watch the lawsuits begin!).

 

[Socio]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Genx87
Katrina is such a classic example of govt inefficiency. Nearly 3.5 years later and the place still has problems and people are still living in trailers provided for by the govt. I have a feeling some of these people will be in those trailers for decades to come.

why should people move? they are getting rent paid so why should they move? hell i would love 4 years of free rent.


you are right they won't move. at least until the goverment tells them they aren't paying for them anymore (then watch the lawsuits begin!).

Yep, free rent, free food via food stamps and a nice wad of welfare spending money per month, it is a great racket and no one has to wonder why they would want to give it up.

I also heard on the radio that many of those 3 year old trailers are so trashed now they will be scavenged for parts then sent to scrap metal yards once the occupants leave.

 

[CRXican]

My family should get some bailout money for the 1994 Northridge earthquake. We still live in the same house but were never compensated for the dishes that evacuated themselves onto the floor. And the water in the pool spilled and we had to refill it.

 

[SMOGZINN]

What about Ike victims? Billions have already been pumped into Katrina Victims but only a few million went to help out the victims of Ike. Galveston island is still in shambles, and very little work is being done.