The Stupid, Heedless, and Ill-Informed Return to New Orleans

It was just too good on the radio this morning, as one of the first residents stumbled her way back into her destroyed parish. A radio reporter asked her what she thought of waiting a few more days for the official FEMA permission to return, for the pronouncement of all-clear and all-safe, and she offered the equivalent of, "Well, I don't think too much of what FEMA is saying because it's not what I want to hear, so I'm not listening to them."

It was just too rich, too ironic, a sound bite of scintillating irony. Yup, she didn't like the message because it conflicted with what she wanted to do, so she was just going to ignore it. I wanted so badly for the radio guy to ask her, "And is this how you reacted to the emergency declarations and evacuation orders at the end of August?" Why didn't he press her on that?

Of course, the answer almost certainly for her would have been yes. The idiots who are so used to watching the prime TV coverage of the redneck idiots staying in their apartments for an alcohol-fueled hurricane party stayed as well. No independent thoughts about evacuation, safety, the rational exercise of "well, what exactly might happen in this case? . . ." Nope, none of that. "I don't want to leave my house, so I'm going to stay right here." And now you've got nothing left, if you're even alive at all.

And I as a tax payer am going to have to shell out how much--upwards of $200 billion, in addition to the $100 billion the Iraq was has already cost--to put these moronically self-destructive, ignorant fools right back into rebuilt homes in a rebuitl city so this can happen again in another 5 or 20 or 50 years? Is anyone paying attention here? Why is any government agency spending any money at all on a city that's 20 feet below sea level? Why don't we spend $200 billion on building homes and schools and clinics for the poor in Appalachia, the rust belt, inner cities? Why don't we spend $200 billion on alternative fuels and wind famrs?

If New Orleans wants to rebuild, sure, by all means, go right ahead. If the locals want to do it, knock yourselves out, cher. But I don't want my well-earned and diligently contributed tax dollars to be thrown into a sodden money pit. Spending money to rebuild New Orleans is big, big politics, but it's also foolish and financially irresponsible. Helping those bombed out by the storm and flood? Hell, yeah, that's what we pay taxes for, and that's what government and FEMA and all of the angencies involved are for, just exactly what they're doing, food and clothing and shelter for folks who've been pushed out. I'm happy to pay taxes for that kind of relief. But spend money to rebuild that city? That's a stupid proposition, plain and simple.

Let the market sort it out. If the city is needed to be rebuilt, private contributions and capital and industry will make it happen. The market will choose the best replacement for Old New Orlenas. That might be a New New Orleans, right where the old one used to be, or the New New Orleans may just end up being Baton Rouge, just a little bit farther up the river. The market will make that determination on infrastructure, roads, housing, port facilities, transportation connectivity, all of those factors. And the market will make that decision and run with it faster than the government ever possibly could. The market will not wait for EPA assessments and appraisals, and the market won't wait for any individuals or groups. The market will go where it needs to go, and it'll go there fast and directly.

Let the market determine the fate of New Orlenas. And if the idiots get flooded out again, which WILL happen, sooner or later, then we can deal with their foolish circumstances as needed.