Re-build new orleans?

[Nasty]

Should tax money be used to rebuild it?

[TallRider]

You need to consider that New Orleans is a seaport and handles most of the grain and other commodities from the midwest.  At least the transportation infrastructure needs to be repaired if not rebuilt and the mistakes of the past corrected.

 

This is like asking whether the devastation from the Anchorage quake in the mid sixties (for those of you who remember) or the damage from the more recent Northridge quake in California should have been repaired because those locations are in major damage earthquake areas.  Those were "natural disasters" too.

 

And for those of you living in or near the St. Louis area, are you going to consider moving because you live on the fault (New Madrid) with more earthquake potential than along the west coast?

 

It shouldn't be a question of whether or not it's rebuilt, but instead to what standards.

[FiremanDave]

I can not envision a world with out a New Orleans, having visited the area many times, and enjoyed it's history, and hospitality, as well as it's culture it would seem incoceivable to me not to rebuild.

 

The question could be raised about any gulf coast city, as well as any area prone to natural disaster, after such a loss as these folks have endured.

 

The real question should be to what standards this city will be rebuilt?

 

Perhaps one of the biggest problems our country has yet to deal with is our penchant for taking actions retroactively rather than pro actively. We as a country must learn that after the fact measures are not enough, we must plan and implement those plans long before they are needed.

 

We must learn to pray for the best, but plan for the worst.

[Guest_ikonboard]

You need to consider that New Orleans is a seaport and handles most of the grain and other commodities from the midwest.  At least the transportation infrastructure needs to be repaired if not rebuilt and the mistakes of the past corrected.

 

This is like asking whether the devastation from the Anchorage quake in the mid sixties (for those of you who remember) or the damage from the more recent Northridge quake in California should have been repaired because those locations are in major damage earthquake areas.  Those were "natural disasters" too.

 

And for those of you living in or near the St. Louis area, are you going to consider moving because you live on the fault (New Madrid) with more earthquake potential than along the west coast?

 

It shouldn't be a question of whether or not it's rebuilt, but instead to what standards.

[Fugdbdt]

Of course New Orleans should be rebuilt -

 

The Packers won a Super Bowl there...

 

Thanks, Danny

[Brock]

I say NO if they want to do it to the same scale as it once stood...but YES if they reduce the footprint and strengthen and enlarge the ability to handle storms, floods, etc.....and return some of the wetlands that help act as a buffer to approaching storms.

 

what i am wondering is will the govt rebuild every home and business in New Orleans and will the insurance industry re-insure future structures.  I know that the companies that would issue policies were drastically reduced after HUGO here...and then the premiums went up drastically as well.

 

Ony thing I know for sure is that the port and transportation hubs will have to be done first or the local economy will never survive...the south and southeast depends on that port and its capaiblities.  

I would bet quite a few of the private homes did not have any insurance or did not have any add ons to cover flooding and such.....and do you rebuild to the same Victorian era style and glamour or do you build modern structures everywhere except French Quarter.  Lots of questions...

[TitanChief]

I'm all for rebuilding, but why tax money? why not private interest?

Oops, here I go again.

[Rosie]

I also think it should, but I'm not too crazy about the taxes paying for it aspect. Perhaps a combination of public and private funding.

 

Of course that will probably turn into a Chrome Plated Cluster-Fuck of the highest proportions....

[Guest_ikonboard]

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.

 

It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury.

 

Alexander Tytler

[Guest jmf48]

Should tax money be used to rebuilt New Orleans?  Hell yes.  Should tax money be used to rebuilt Iraq?  Hell no.  Some people believe anything.

[Rick Nielsen]

Put the people that were receiving welfare to work to rebuild it, this way they will have a better appreciation for it.

 

Rick

[KC Cheef]

Put the people that were receiving welfare to work to rebuild it, this way they will have a better appreciation for it.

 

Rick

Well there you go.

TEACH those people skills.

Looks like if it is going to be rebuilt there will be plenty of oppurtunity to make things better for a whole lot of people.

Damn--the work will be there and last for years.

[TallRider]

Brock makes a good point about insurers underwriting appetite and whether or not they will insure risks that are re-built in the same location, ie. twenty feet below seal level.

 

Insurers typically will not provide Flood insurance within the 100 year flood plain; the National Flood Insurance Program (if I remember my agencies correctly) provides flood in those instances.  Same is true for Wind losses in what we call Tier 1 and 2 along the Gulf Coast, and for Earthquake in close proximity to any major fault line.  

 

However, even the insurance market fluctuates and many insurers have a short memory, so you see them providing Earthquake, Flood and Wind coverage in areas that will have those types of losses (the operative word there is "will").

 

After a major catastrophe like this (insurance industry estimates range from $17B to $25B in insured losses), insurers will be reluctant to take on risks in that area unless corrective action is taken to minimize future losses (no amount of corrective action can eliminate these tyupes of catastrophic losses).

[badcad]

No!

[TitanChief]

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.

 

It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury.

 

Alexander Tytler

Man, this Alexander dude keeps popping up, specifically his quote about democracy. I noted it also in  Boortz's favorite quotes as well. Very, very interesting stuff.

Oh, it's Alexander TYLER.

[Huricane]

So we are to rebuild Towel Head City, but not our own country ?

This is the United States Of America !

When disaster hits one state, it his every state.

[firebird77clone]

It's gotten wiped out from every major hurricaine which blew its way.

 

Remove the dikes and return it to the wetland it should be.

 

As for rebuilding.. should be permitted anywhere above sea level, but should be designed to withstand cat 5 hurricaine.

[TitanChief]

So we are to rebuild Towel Head City, but not our own country ?

This is the United States Of America !

When disaster hits one state, it his every state.

well, I don't think Tax payers should rebuild raghead city either. If there is private interest (and there most certainly is) then private orgs. can rebuild. Call it capital investment. why do I have to pay for it? I already donated to Red Cross, now I am FORCED to pay for it in Tax money. Why is that fair? If California shakes away, I have my properties insured, vehicles, medical, and life. So, I will leave the area until clear, get my insurance money, and rebuild, all without taxpayer help.

[porkchop]

From a previous post!

 

 

I remember watching a documentary a while ago on what would happen if New Orleans took a direct hit from a Major hurricane.

Hundreds of thousands dead.

If that storm hit just a little west of New Orleans

That 30 foot tidal surge would have hit New Orleans directly.

Would have killed as many as the Tsunami in Asia did.

 

Gotta figure out how to jack up the city.

 

Can't see rebuilding the whole thing.

Initial estimates of just rebuilding and reinforcing levees for

a cat 5 storm is about 14 Billion of course that number will triple upon completion. And this is Just the levees.

I Love N.O. But Always thought it was freaky looking up at the ships.  :uhoh:

[johnh]

Yes rebuild New Orleans.

 

Though you have to wonder if congress fully funded the levee work (another 50m) instead of building an Alaskan bridge to an island of 50 people (that most don't want) for 200m it could have saved us 50 billion dollars.

[whadayawant]

Put the people that were receiving welfare to work to rebuild it, this way they will have a better appreciation for it.

 

Rick

Well there you go.

TEACH those people skills.

Looks like if it is going to be rebuilt there will be plenty of oppurtunity to make things better for a whole lot of people.

Damn--the work will be there and last for years.

Son-of-a-bitches could'nt learn a trade up ta this point. I do'nt think they can learn one in th next 6 months. But, they could loot the materials from Home Depot.

[Brock]

Yes rebuild New Orleans.

 

Though you have to wonder if congress fully funded the levee work (another 50m) instead of building an Alaskan bridge to an island of 50 people (that most don't want) for 200m it could have saved us 50 billion dollars.

i will try to find it again...but in my searches found that over 65million was left untouched by New Orleans for levy work.....and another 33 million of moneys dedicated by Fed Govt for use in construction to strengthen levies and pumping ability of city was instead diverted to renovate the mansion the LA Supreme Court Chief lives in....  it also mentioned how they thought the odds of a direct hit from a Cat-5 was low enough to instead only build to Cat-3 levels.

I also learned that each levy has a board of directors...that is independent of all the other levy boards and they alone handle contract negotiation and awarding.  There was also millions of dollars given that was to be matched by the state and local government and was never touched because the Levy boards were going bankrupt and entering solvency.....and were denied from issuing bonds AGAIN until they proved they had cleaned up the corruption and designed a way to ensure future monetary losses would be minimized while focusing all of the given money on what it was intended.  That was in 1998 and still the money sits untouched....

 

I think the more that we dig the more you will see a huge mismanagement of funds by local and state officials....and rampant corruption that diverted available monies away from critical projects that go back to early 90s under the Clinton era.  WIll look for it so I can give the link to those that are interested....but Gov. Blanco and Mayor of New ORleans are looking more and more like they are more to blame than anyone else.....

[johnh]

Yes rebuild New Orleans.

 

Though you have to wonder if congress fully funded the levee work (another 50m) instead of building an Alaskan bridge to an island of 50 people (that most don't want) for 200m it could have saved us 50 billion dollars.

i will try to find it again...but in my searches found that over 65million was left untouched by New Orleans for levy work.....and another 33 million of moneys dedicated by Fed Govt for use in construction to strengthen levies and pumping ability of city was instead diverted to renovate the mansion the LA Supreme Court Chief lives in....  it also mentioned how they thought the odds of a direct hit from a Cat-5 was low enough to instead only build to Cat-3 levels.

I also learned that each levy has a board of directors...that is independent of all the other levy boards and they alone handle contract negotiation and awarding.  There was also millions of dollars given that was to be matched by the state and local government and was never touched because the Levy boards were going bankrupt and entering solvency.....and were denied from issuing bonds AGAIN until they proved they had cleaned up the corruption and designed a way to ensure future monetary losses would be minimized while focusing all of the given money on what it was intended.  That was in 1998 and still the money sits untouched....

 

I think the more that we dig the more you will see a huge mismanagement of funds by local and state officials....and rampant corruption that diverted available monies away from critical projects that go back to early 90s under the Clinton era.  WIll look for it so I can give the link to those that are interested....but Gov. Blanco and Mayor of New ORleans are looking more and more like they are more to blame than anyone else.....

Back to the '90s. Aw hell don't stop there New Orleans has been corrupt since Napoleon.

[Brock]

LOL...you got that right.  Who was the guy that was so damn corrupt and people wore it like a badge of honor there...Hugh something I believe.

[Wind Dancer]

New Orleans was a beautiful and historic city.I don't believe there is any way to rebuild it to the grand way it was.I will miss that.I do think parts should be rebuilt however.It is a major shipping area that a large part of the US relied on.As far as putting homes back below sea level?Not a good idea.Should tax money be used for rebuilding?To a certain extent,yes.Businesses that support shipping and related industry were more likely insured but many people are homeless and jobless.Those issues need to be addressed or the economy of the entire region will be seriously affected.Our tax money will go toward providing those people with welfare and gov't subsidized housing.Build low income and low cost housing for these folks but not in an area below sea level.Help them to help themselves now or continue to support them from now on.If we are going to rebuild Iraq then we should take care of our own first!