Reflecting on Katrina
As the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina passes, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the politicization of the disaster and the errors committed in trying to clean it up. First off, the Democratic Party's assessment that the White House turned its back on Louisiana is totally off base. Congress approved more than $120 billion for the Gulf region, more than it has allocated for any other national disaster. However, allowing a city as notoriously corrupt as New Orleans carte blanche in spending its money has led to massive fraud and waste and allowing the local, state, and federal government to take the lead in the rebuilding process was also a mistake. After all, it was government incompetence and slow movement that exacerbated the problems in the first place.
The best progress has been made where the private sector has been involved—with companies like Wal-Mart and Home Depot using contributions to help people rebuild. Billions of dollars in federal flood insurance claims are still mired in red tape, while private insurance companies have paid out 80 percent of homeowner claims.
There is much to be learned from Katrina, and any real assessment could take volumes. All our elected officials have been able to do so far is make a partisan issue out of it, for which we all suffer.