[StBernard] The federal government broke New Orleans and now should fix it.

[Westley Annis]

Author: Steve Sabludowsky  |  1/5/2006 Home : Politics  - BayouBuzz.com
 
The federal government broke New Orleans and now should fix it.

 

One logical way is through the Baker Plan named after Congressman Richard
Baker of Louisiana.

 

In a New York Times article, "A Big Government Fix It Plan For New Orleans"
writer Adam Nossiter provides a snapshot of the major problem facing much of
southeast Louisiana.  According to the Times referring to the recent
appropriations legislation that passed Congress, "The package gave
Mississippi about five times as much per household in housing aid as
Louisiana received - a testimony to the clout of Gov. Haley Barbour of
Mississippi, a former Republican National Committee chairman, and Senator
Thad Cochran, chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

 

As described by Nossiter, the Baker Bill "would offer to buy out homeowners,
at no less than 60 percent of their equity before Hurricane Katrina. Lenders
would be offered up to 60 percent of what they are owed." 

 

"To finance these expenditures, the government would sell bonds and pay them
off in part with the proceeds from the sale of land to developers." 

 

"Property owners would not have to sell, but those who did would have an
option to buy property back from the corporation. The federal corporation
would have nothing to do with the redevelopment of the land; those plans
would be drawn up by local authorities and developers."

 

Although the Baker Bill has received some attention from the President and
members of Congress, it is far from a done deal.  Some fiscal Conservatives
believe that details need to be worked out and the price tag is too much.  

 

In an C-Span interview this morning, Treasury Secretary John Snow said the
program has some merit.  Snow stated that "the merit lies in addressing the
problem in a way that the private sector portion get a chance to play a
role, containing the expenditure levels, and putting in place sensible
outcomes".

 

This suggests to me that with the New York Times writing about the Plan and
Secretary stating it has merit--particularly because the private sector
plays a role in rebuilding-- the plan has some momentum.

 

However, there is another reason that the Baker Plan has merit which is
doing what is morally right which I believe is the foundation of America.

 

The City of New Orleans is trying everything it can to create an economy out
of vapor.  Between 70 to 80 percent of the homes in the area are destroyed
or significantly damaged and very little was the fault of the average
homeowner.

 

Unfortunately, the United States Army Corps of Engineers-meaning the federal
government messed up royally and it appears some in the federal government
do not want to fully compensate those who fell victim to the feds.

 

The damage to the homes in Louisiana was caused by flooding.  The levees and
floodwalls broke--the structures were under the construction, maintenance
and control of the federal government. 

 

Water came rushing in and flooded the region.

 

Many of the property owners have no insurance.  These people are individuals
of all races and ethnicities.   Insurance agents and others told them they
did not need federally provided flood insurance based upon a map under the
control and devised by the federal government.  

 

 

This issue is not a Republican or Democrat issue.  It is a people and a
business issue.  The people are going to default on their loans.  The
lending institutions are going to eat dust.  The houses will be worth very
little because there will be no people.  

 

If the federal government does not assist with a plan that will allow
individuals to sell their homes to try to pay off their loans, those people
will walk away from property that nobody wants because there will be no
economy.

 

That is bad financial business.  And, it is terrible people business.

 

It also absolutely makes no sense..

 

Should we all lose the Battle of New Orleans it will be at the hands of
those in power.  The irony is pathetic.  The feds through its incredible
negligence have crushed the jewel of the south and could chisel on repairing
the lives of American citizens that it severely hurt.   Let's hope not.

 

As President Bush has told the terrorist, you break it, you pay for it.

 

In this case, the federal government--more than any other party--broke it.
It should pay the piper.  Mr. and Mrs. Average New Orleans Citizen trusted
the federal government to protect it from this very risk and it failed in
its job.  It must pay for the damages--and in so doing, it would be saving
small businesses, an economy, and large financial institutions.  More
importantly, it will be practicing what it preaches to be and to act
responsibly.  

 

The Baker Plan has a lot of merit while it might need some tweaking, it is
the most logical way to repair the lives of those who suffered harmed by the
federal government and to do it in a way where the private sector has a lot
of say.