Are New Orleans residents ever going to get over themselves?

Question

Will they ever realize they are not the only people in the world do go through a disaster? Will they ever stop expecting the "government and President Bush" to make their lives the same as they were before Katrina. If my life had been turned upside like theirs was two years ago, I would have moved on and started to rebuild by now. It's been two years! Stop crying and stop taking care of yourself and your family. While the WWII generation is known as the greatest generation, I think the Katrina New Orleans generation will be known as the most embarrassing of the American generations. How about showing some backbone and doing something for yourselves?

Answer 1

If they face up to the cold hard facts that, if you live there you are a risk taker and most risk takers do not always gain by taking the risk. I really feel sorry for people who have problems due to things beyond their control, but if you tempt fate and Mother Nature why does everyone else have to pay the price for the risk you took and lost ?

Answer 2

Of course the residents of N.O. aren't the only ones to have gone through a disaster. However, it is the most significant disaster to have happened in this country in the past two years. The reason we keep hearing about it in the news is that east New Orleans is still in shambles and not enough has been done about it.

Answer 3

AMEN!

Answer 4

no,and its getting triesome

Answer 5

Just another opportunity for a hand out.  Half are still in paid  housing with no intention of trying to do better.  They would rather live in a free house and whine, than get out and work.

Answer 6

The situation in NO is not so simple.  The US Army Corps of Engineers has a lot of control over the life and death of the city, because it is located at the edge of the sea, almost under water, and its port is one of the most important in the whole country.  Louisiana has a quirky form of State government, inherited from the French.  Jurisdiction in the flooded areas is divided up between parishes (counties), the city, the State and the Feds.  There are areas of rubble that have yet to be cleared because there is so much to be demolished and the organization of authority and responsibility is so mixed up.

The biggest problem is that rebuilding requires either cash or credit, and credit requires insurance, and insurance cannot be had  in many areas until the Army fixes the levees and flood walls.  This leaves hundreds of thousands without homes to go back to, without jobs to go back to, and without municipal services to make their property even inhabitable much less rebuildable.  Even if everything was fixed (which it will not be until 2012), the State and the insurance  companies are in litigation over rates, terms, and coverages, and no new insurance policies against flood, or storms, or even fire and theft can be written until these issues are settled.  Without insurance, much of New Orleans and vicinity, and the Mississippi area south of I-10, cannot be rebuilt at all.  How would you like to have your town destroyed by a storm and be told you can't rebuild because the public agencies and private companies are arguing over insurance rules?  That is what is going on in New Orleans...

Answer 7

As long as we listen they will whine. Just cut them off and move on.Give New Orleans to them.i don't want it.

Answer 8

I wish ppl like you would go through a natural disaster . let your job be gone and your home and your insurance company tell you that they cannot determine if the water came from below or above so they are not going to pay your claim . I wonder how you would deal with that ? think about it ppl they dont have anything left . I think alot of them have moved on and done something for themselves .

Answer 9

Many of the residents have moved on.  The ones that were permanently attached to the governments teet are the ones who are complaining.

Answer 10

No probably not. Its because the people that are still complaining are the poorest of the poor.

Answer 11

I think they will stop when they get what they want, they don't care where it comes from, they just want it for free.

But if we do that for them, we have to do that for everyone!

Answer 12

A great thing is happening in NO. Educated working people are taking jobs there and improving the economy. The non working welfare peeps are still lounging in Houston and other cities they fled to after the storm.

Answer 13

First, there is no precedent for the disaster that was Katrina. An area larger than Great Britain was wrecked by the storm and recovery from such a huge event is not easy or quick.

Second, half of New Orleans is at or above sea level, and much of the part that is lower is only a little below sea level. The city flooded so badly because Katrina's storm srge was MUCH higher than sea level. Every coastal city in the country (maybe the world) would have been flooded by Katrina - which was the stongest storm ever recorded to strike North America.

Third, New Orleans is NOT "hurricane-prone". The last hurricane to strike New Orleans before Katrina was Betsy in 1965. Before that was the "storm of 1947" which was a minimal hurricane and was before the storms were named.

Finally, rebuilding New Orleans is not optional

The historical and cultural aspects of New Orleans are usually mentioned whenever the topic of rebuilding is brought up. Those are legitimate factors, but they are NOT the reason people are back or why New Orleans is important to the rest of the USA.

New Orleans is an essential link in our national transportation system. The Port of New Orleans is an obvious element of that and the port is either the largest or 2nd largest port each year in the USA (tons of cargo).

Rail and highway transportation are also focused on New Orleans and NOLA is one of the top two or three junctions for traffic between east and west in the USA.

More than a third of America's energy is either produced in southeast Louisiana or is imported through SE LA. The infrastructure that supports the energy industry is centered in New Orleans. What may turn out to be the largest oil field in North America was discovered offshore of LA in 2006.

More than 25% of America's refining capacity is in the New Orleans area.

A large percentage of America's non-petroleum chemical industry is in the area.

There are 6 full universities, 2 medical schools, 2 law schools, a dental school, a pharmacy school, 2 seminaries, and a variety of junior colleges & technical schools in New Orleans.

NASA manufactures the fuel tanks for the space shuttle in New Orleans, and will manufacture parts of the next generation of spacecraft.

A significant percentage of America's shipbuilding & ship repair industry is in the New Orleans area.

A variety of other manufacturers have factories in New Orleans, such as Bell-Textron.

It is possible to move much of the industry, transportation facilities, and other infrastructure, though only at HUGE expense. It is not possible to move the Mississippi River or the oil fields. It would cost trillions of dollars to even TRY to replace New Orleans.

For literally a few billion dollars (that should have been spent before Katrina) we can build sufficient hurricane protection around New Orleans so the catastrophe of Katrina never happens again.

In contrast, can we protect Los Angeles and San Francisco from earthquakes? Can Seattle be protected from volcanoes and tsunamis? Should the mid-west be evacuated because there are tornadoes? New York and Miami are at even more risk than NOLA from hurricanes - do you propose to abandon New York and Miami?

The federal government spent $14 Billion to build a tunnel under Boston's harbor - for commuters and not even for protection.

Your question suggests Louisiana-Americans are so much less valuable than Massachusetts-Americans that half the cost of a tunnel shouldn't be spent on hurricane protection for New Orleans.

Answer 14

There are two mantras now:

1. Whatever bad happens, it someone Else's fault.

2. Why hasn't the government done this or that for me?

While it is good our government "helps" it seems people want them to do it all. The town is below sea level, folks, what are you doing building there in the first place!

Gee, my million dollar house on the ocean front cliff fell into the ocean. Please Uncle Sam, build it for me again...

Answer 15

Although the one guy who answered this question at the bottom has made some good points it is not enough for me. Nobody should be living there because of sea level issues. If you rebuild and you can not get insurance then tough sh-t don't come crying to the government and say you need to rebuild us. I have listened to enough c**p about New Orleans and the people going to Washington to march on the steps. When it was up and running you had the worst crime and corruption on the planet. The mayor called it the chocolate city because of all the blacks there and he was going to make it a chocolate city again. You lost me there whites should have been in outrage with prejudisum but it does not work that way it only works that way if you are black. Stop your whining and move on and by the way Houston does not want any of you either. I do not want to throw any more money at a lost cause like New Orleans. They can build another port somewhere else where it is much safer and it will probably be cheaper to go that route.

Answer 16

I didn't even scroll down to see the other answers before I answered this,  It's definately with mixed feelings.......but from what I can see....this is the perfect example between people who EXPECT to bailed out and those that pick themselves up by the boot straps and go forward.

This world has experienced worse catastrophes.....they are up and running....but these guys are still waiting ......I hate to be mean....but people that left there did better once they left there,  Blessing in disguise.  

I don't beleive they said that people came back....there was just an influx of people who took their place.

Most of those people in the 9th ward were section 8 renters.  They weren't HOME owners. They were RENTERS.  Would you go back once you got a free ride out of there to a better place?  h**l NO!!~!!

I used to beg for a chance out of Florida.  People don't stay there because they WANT to....they stay coz they can't get out!!!!!!  For many this was a GIFT to get out of there!

I would be curious to see how many people saw this as the BEGINING of their life and not the end.

Answer 17

I am near there and its getting very old very quick...my area was the one that took the eye of that storm...NO just flooded when the levee let go...WE got hit with the durn thing and it plastered us...but OUR state Governor got off his bum and got us some help..that mayor and Gov over in La took their time and their people suffered