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Hard road to rebirth of Big Easy
By Mike Murray
murrmich@mscd.edu

On Aug. 25, 2005, the United States of America was brought to its knees not by a terrorist attack, but by the big, bad wolf herself, Mother Nature, who dealt a blow so hard it is still felt today.

Over $87 billion has been spent on hurricane relief in the last two years. Over 90,000 square miles of land were affected, according to USA Today. The rebuilding of Louisiana is still at a primitive stage, with many communities and families left wanting.

The government has just finalized the construction on a symbol of hope in Louisiana. The symbol is, of course, the Louisiana Superdome. It is a symbol to all who come to Louisiana that the Pelican State is on the up and out. It is a symbol to all except the residents of Louisiana.

I wonder how the federal government could spend $185 million to rebuild the Superdome but fall short on rebuilding homes and schools. More than 40 percent of homes in New Orleans are without power today.

Many schools, churches and homes are in a state of complete disaster. There are parts of New Orleans that look more like war zones than parts of the United States. I wonder what those people would do with $185 million.

It is the official plan of the federal government to rebuild New Orleans. First, they believe that they must re-establish New Orleans as a top tourist destination.

The second step is to re-establish the culture of New Orleans. The third stage is to actually invest in the infrastructure of the city, such as homes, communities and schools. The fourth part of the plan is, of course, to establish the effectiveness of this procedure in an intensive accountability process.

Meaning, if you were counting, New Orleans is only in the first of four stages. The federal government intends to restore all the cultural and tourism-based areas of New Orleans before they even consider investing in infrastructure.

The local government offered us this: “Rebuilding people’s lives and their livelihoods is the centerpiece of rebuilding Louisiana. People, all people, and the quality of their lives within their communities must be the centerpiece of the recovery strategy.”

This begs the question: If the people are the most important part of the rebuilding process, why are they third to hotels and stadiums?

It is no big secret that the backbone of the Louisiana economy is tourism. Tourism creates jobs and is one of the things people need most in Louisiana. This thought process is fueling the recovery strategies.

The problem with the plan is it is flawed. True, it does allow more money to come into Louisiana, which could eventually be used to complete the construction. But it will split the state and, in a sense, create a New Orleans and Old Orleans.

The federal government, by ignoring the need to invest in basic infrastructure such as roads, homes and schools, is helping expand an already great economic difference in the classes. Any good economist will tell you the key to a successful society is the middle class.

The middle class is responsible for most of the spending as well as most of the production in any area. New Orleans is on its way to being a top tourist destination while Old Orleans has been left in utter ruins.

I don’t know if anyone here has ever played Sim City, but after a natural disaster, what is the first course of action? Of course, it is to repair the city’s infrastructure. What happened when you ignored the people in the city, taxed them to hell and started rebuilding stadiums?

If the federal government, as well as the state government, does not recognize the immediate need to invest in the local infrastructure we may just find out. A Republican should not have to tell a Republican administration about accountability and fiscal responsibility.

Invest in the people, not the stadiums, of New Orleans. They will not let you down!