What Are We Doing Here: Katrina's Impact on the Economy and Government

There are so many problems and depressing stories about the actions of our government when determining aid to hurricane victims. And questions......Why are there still FEMA trailer parks? Why are there still derelict communities in New Orleans? Why are the local and federal governments fighting about what to restore and what not to restore?

The most important issue that is passed around is rebuilding the 9^th Ward, in New Orleans, where the poorest people lived. Newt Gingrich in his 2006 speech at Johns Hopkins has repeatedly blamed the lack of progress on the citizens of the 9^th Ward. A direct quote from CPAC was, 'How can you have the mess we have in New Orleans, and not have had deep investigations of the federal government, the state government, the city government, and the failure of citizenship in the Ninth Ward, where 22,000 people were so uneducated and so unprepared, they literally couldn't get out of the way of a hurricane.' Jeffrey Feldman on Frameshop.com referred to President Bush's 'No Child Left Behind' policy and how Bush seems to be in agreement with Newt, that these people became victims through a lack of education, although Bush himself flunked out of college. You don't have to be educated to get on a bus and leave, the city officials just didn't bother supplying them with any transportation to evacuate.

Many people around the U.S. believe that President Bush has betrayed his people to kiss the proverbial politicians behind, by blaming a small poor and undefended group of citizens for the failure of FEMA, state, and government to help our own Americans, because he was too busy with the war in Iraq to bother to give his full attention to Hurricane Katrina victims before and after.

There was a debate on if New Orleans should be restored at all and some part that should stay devoid of life for the future good of the rest of New Orleans. There is a song artist named John Cox who hits it right on the nail when we think about these questions and problems. He wrote a song that has the lyrics; 'What are we doing here?'. It's about a man who lost himself in the business and financial power that he gained through out his life and forgot who he was and what life really means.

But there are those that are doing their utmost to help the 9^th Ward and other areas rebuild. Ron Hayes from the Palm Beach Post Staff in Florida reported that several teenagers from Florida came to help Big Easy's 9^th Ward. Soon after arriving, though, they came to the realization that however many church's and organizations that have or will help was simply taking too long. Some teens that were back this year noticed that many houses that had been in ruins had been torn down but there were no new structures, just empty lots. If these victims had no deeds, no insurance, no money, then they are being written off as unimportant. Politicians, insurance agencies, and loan companies have been dishonest with the low income families of New Orleans, and even the middle income families. They are all trying to cash in on peoples' misery instead of trying to put right the damages of Hurricane Katrina. Will our country's political parties ever stop arguing long enough to get all the areas ravaged by Katrina put back together again? Will the insurance and loan companies realize that life is more important than money? None of us know the answers to these questions. But there's one thing that every citizen in the United States does know and that is that we are the ones that our fellow citizens in Louisiana and Mississippi can and are counting on, no strings attached. just old-fashioned humanism and donating our time and money. It's a shame that our government cannot or will not follow our lead. They keep themselves mired in their own red tape as an excuse.