All I have to offer is what I know from first hand experience with two of our dearest friends that lost everything to Katrina and to Rita. But first, I must say a huge AMEN! to my friend, NJ. She's nailed it. Ray Nagin is a complete and total buffoon! (I'm white, but I can say it anyway. White, Black, Red, Green, I don't give a damn. The man is the grossest example of self-serving, back-asswards thinking I have ever seen.) The governor of Louisiana is a total dingbat and the residents have got to be glad she's not running again.
Now, on to what I think (not that you asked): Our friends lost everything. They came up where we are to escape, decided to stay and are SO glad they did. There is nothing to go back to in New Orleans for them or many of their friends from there. It is true that a great many people have been displaced and seem ill prepared to engage in their own recovery. How do I feel? Too bad. They have had plenty of time to pull themselves up by the bootstraps, put on their big girl/boy underpants and charge forward. The root of the problem is that the majority of the people who are still displaced (and bitching the loudest) were dependent on the government before the hurricanes anyway. The state and federal governments have done a HORRIBLE job of teaching them how to take care of themselves. In fact, Nagin and his ilk, the state of Louisiana and much of the federal gov't have kept too many people dependent in order to secure the votes they need to retain power.
What do I know? From our friends, money has been and is still available for small business loans and mortgages, moving expenses, reconstruction, etc. What isn't available as readily? A handout - gone are the VISA check cards with the the $2500 for whatever you want to do. What is in place? More accountability and that is not what most people want. It is sad that so many people who called New Orleans home can't go back to life they knew - change is hard. It is sad and tragic that so many lost so much (even if it wasn't much it was theirs). But they lived. And live they must. It is time to do what must be done: teach them how to live on their own and deal with what has happened. And it is time to quit making it a race issue. It is a human issue. AND, it isn't just New Orleans.
That's my peace and it may not make much sense, we had wine with dinner and my motor got to running. I do know that I don't know ALL of what has occurred with the fallout from the hurricanes. But, I know what I know from our friends. And it is amazing what people are NOT taking advantage of in the way of assistance because it isn't a direct hand out.
Hope all are well and on the road to a better day.
Ed