Katrina: Who Pays for It?
We cannot call Katrina “An Act of God”. The fact that a hurricane of unusual strength could hit New Orleans was well known. Simulations had shown what would happen, yet the governments did nothing to prepare for it. President Bush, on Sept 1, said no one could predict the levees would break. Yet this prediction had been done:
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46092
Bush and other authorities had ignored the data. Moreover, the decision makers at the Federal level (Brown, Chertoff) were all political appointees with no experience in preparing for such an event. Even now, lobbyists are in a hurry to get no-bid contracts and waste more money.
We can expect that Bush’s strategy is to shove money at it. Lots of money. Little changes other than this. The root cause of the problem is never dealt with. This means a bigger budget deficit next year, and more debt for every taxpayer.
The proper strategy lies in Congress, as I don’t expect President Bush to change - stop the pork barrel (such as the $231 million Alaskan bridge to nowhere), end our involvement in Iraq, insist on bidding for contracts, and hold people accountable - including Brown, Bush, and the rest of the gang. Without this, the support of President Bush, the Republicans, and even the Democratic senators and congresspeople will continue to drop like a rock. Hey - remember, there is an election next year. You can vote for changes.