New Orleans will be rebuilt, but it won't be built the same as before. Maybe I've watched too much science fiction and read too many apocalyptic books like It Can't Happen Here and the Librarian. But here's what I see as New Orlean's future.
Like the third world place it has become, a handful of wealthy people and a corrupt government will take over the entire New Orleans area. They will hand out contracts to Halliburton and whichever other big companies gave contributions to Bush.
Federal regulations will forbid small homes. The area that was flooded is prime real-estate, next to the French Quarter. It will be paved and covered with high-rise hotels, office buildings, golf courses, perhaps a shopping mall or two and a load of casinos. They'll probably all be designed with flood resistant parking garages below flood level.
Bottom line""the rip-off gas prices nation-wide are just the beginning. Bush cut his eyeteeth making his wealth off of government spending, starting with the sale of a baseball team. Bush will cash in on this disaster, as he's done with Iraq and 9-11. These whore's have no bottom, there is no low they cannot go lower than.
Perhaps they will through in some low income high rise instant tenements, like we see in section of NY city. They won't be given the opportunity or insurance or federal aid to rebuild""unless they had expensive homes. Bush's base""the upper 5% income people will get special federal aid and funds. They'll get gorgeous condos or big settlements. The communities that existed will not be rebuilt.
Sadly, this approach will "make sense" at one level, since it will re-build New Orleans to be much more flood-proof, much safer than ever before.
The people who were shipped out of New Orleans to other states will be offered funds and support to stay in those states. Let's call it disaster gerrymandering, except, in this case, the people, not the borders of the voting precincts have been moved. With tens of thousands of poor blacks, mostly democratic voters out of Louisiana, the balance will shift and the Republicans will steal the vote of another state. Too bad, but not surprising that the "refugees" weren't moved to Florida or Ohio.
