It’s hard to tell where & when New Orleans’ problems 1st started. Extreme power politics were virtually invented in LA with Huey Long. Corruption has long been endemic. As usual, the folks who suffer the most are those at the very bottom of the economic ladder & always have been; in short, unable to affect or influence events. In NOLA, it’s the 9th Ward & other “undesirable” sectors of the city. And throughout the city, even in “uptown,” one was never very far from the sounds of gunfire in the nearby projects & “undesireable” areas. Even so, New Orleans was not big enough (confined geographically between the river & Lake Pontchartrain) for “white flight” to occur on any any very great scale. Metairie is just one of New Orleans’ burbs where whites fled pre-Katrina (& David Duke’s home), but they’re (beyond) boring. I lived there briefly but moved back into New Orleans, a city which, for all its problems from the white middle class sensibility & pov, is unlike any other in the United States.

I LOVED New Orleans, & went back as often as I could after I moved to Seattle (talk about white & middle class but that’s another boring story), & the last time I was there (still pre-hurricane) there was a brand spanking new Harrah’s Casino near the old warehouse district, which was undergoing redevelopment into trendy upscale loft condos, like every other city in the country. Problem is, there was still no economy to speak of, so the gap between very rich & very poor was stark there. Tourism is NOT a viable alternative–it turns residents into “slaves” (forgive the non-PC reference, but its true) & forces them to live on scaps & bones.

Since Katrina, I’ve read that rents have DOUBLED. Federal aid? Read this: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1652501,00.html

seriously, the destruction of new orleans was so painful to watch and the “recovery” process even more so. it is an outrage and as is typical for these asshats in washington, the entire process has been corrupt and has screwed not only the people of new orleans, but the workers who could put the city back together and those who care about what happens there.

it’s been a boon, though, for the contractors. wonder how many are bush contributors? and i may be paranoid, but i am convinced that those uninhabitable fema trailers were sitting on some mobile home manufacturer’s back lot after having failed inspection for air quality.

the disaster in new orleans was just the thing that CEO needed to unload that unsaleable housing, probably at six times the cost, on the people of new orleans who are of no account anyway, so who cares if they are poisoned. still pissed, still outraged.

BushCo is releasing the funds slowly on purpose I believe..he wants the people of the region to get discouraged and move on..so the carpetbaggers can move in and swoop up the property for basically nothing.

Its the biggest travesty we have ever had on our shores.