Re: What happens to the property?

Propolis,

Your source made a mistake and then made a presumption based on that mistake.

Right now there are over 600 displaced residents of NO living in my city. Most are living in shelters, but some have been taken in by locals. One such local is a friend of mine, who went down to NO and personally rescued 2 large families. 19 people are living in this lady's 3 bedroom house right now. Most of them are young children.

Homeowners who live(d) in NO have flood insurance. They are required to have it by law. Eventually these people may choose to return to their homes and rebuild. The poor in NO are the ones who have been permanently displaced. 250,000 poor people from Louisiana are now Texans. More of these poor people have been "adopted" by other states, mostly in the south.

These people were never home owners. They were never property owners. They lived in slums/ghettos/the Hood. They lived in either government housing projects or low income apartments owned by slum lords. Most of them received federal housing income or vouchers. They are welfare recipients. They have/own nothing.

Yes, a few owned their own homes. But these homes were little more than shanties to begin with. From my experience with the poor here in my city, the homes didn't make code and were often "red tagged" (condemned) by the city. Often our city officials look the other way in these cases, because there is not enough adequate housing for the poor to move them. These areas of town are high crime areas. From my experience in living in LA, these were parts of town you wouldn't want to be lost in.

The displaced refugees are being given credit cards with $2000 on them, courtesy of your federal tax dollars. This is more money than probably any of them had. They are also being given food stamps, also courtesy of your pocketbook. They are being housed in non-profit or privately owned shelters for as long as they need it. Faith based and other non-profit organizations are supplying ample clothing, plus diapers, toiletries, hot meals at least once a day, and are taking them to unemployment centers such as the Texas Workforce Commission. The children are being enrolled in public schools at state taxpayers' expense, and private donations are paying for the children's school supplies.

A huge effort is being made to reunite families and to assure loved ones of their safety. Churches are adopting families and welcoming them into their congregations. The Department of Health and Human Resources is bending a lot of rules in order to take care of these people. Medical needs are being met through state taxpayer-funded hospitals and federal taxpayer funded Medicaid.

The property on which these people lived was never theirs to begin with. Property owners will be given fair market value for the land if the property was underinsured. Yes, it will be redeveloped, and yes, Haliburton has a no bid contract with the City of NO to do the reconstruction, but my understanding is that it is for city owned property only. Haliburton is close by in Houston so there's not much in traveling expenses, plus Haliburton is one of the only companies in the US who can do this kind of reconstruction. I can only assume that Haliburton will bid for other contracts, but it was the City of NO (mayor & city council) who agreed to the no bid contract with Haliburton. If the City of NO gets federal funding to help with reconstruction costs, it comes out of our pockets.

The French Quarter was not hit very hard (higher elevation). The other areas will be revitalized. It will take a while, but the South will rise again.

Blessings,
-Donna