Excellent Op-Ed piece on New Orleans
"Will New Orleans Recover?" Nicole Gelinas
Excerpts:
...No American city has ever gone through what New Orleans must go through: the complete (if temporary) flight of its most affluent and capable citizens, followed by social breakdown among those left behind, after which must come the total reconstruction of economic and physical infrastructure by a devastated populace...
...New Orleans has no real competent government or civil infrastructure—and no aggressive media or organized citizens’ groups to prod public officials in the right direction during what will be, in the best-case scenario, a painstaking path to normalcy...
...Sure, the feds must provide cash and resources for relief and recovery—but it’s up to New Orleans, not the feds, to dig deep within itself to rebuild its economic and social infrastructure before the tourists ever will flock back to pump cash into the city’s economy. It will take a miracle. New Orleans has experienced a steady brain drain and fiscal drain for decades, as affluent corporations and individuals have fled, leaving behind a large population of people dependent on the government...
...The current mayor, Ray Nagin, can’t help but be an improvement. Mayor Nagin is no doubt in shock, like everyone else. In a perfect world, this would be no time to criticize his performance. But it’s now that the eyes of the country are on him, and it’s now that he must take charge, to counter the indelible images marauding looters have already stamped on a deluged city. Nagin must stop making comments like this: “We’re not even dealing with dead bodies. They're just pushing them on the side.” He must recover himself and vow publicly, over and over, to mourn the dead, to recover his city from the waters, and to rebuild as quickly as is humanly possible.
"Will New Orleans Recover?" Nicole Gelinas
Excerpts:
...No American city has ever gone through what New Orleans must go through: the complete (if temporary) flight of its most affluent and capable citizens, followed by social breakdown among those left behind, after which must come the total reconstruction of economic and physical infrastructure by a devastated populace...
...New Orleans has no real competent government or civil infrastructure—and no aggressive media or organized citizens’ groups to prod public officials in the right direction during what will be, in the best-case scenario, a painstaking path to normalcy...
...Sure, the feds must provide cash and resources for relief and recovery—but it’s up to New Orleans, not the feds, to dig deep within itself to rebuild its economic and social infrastructure before the tourists ever will flock back to pump cash into the city’s economy. It will take a miracle. New Orleans has experienced a steady brain drain and fiscal drain for decades, as affluent corporations and individuals have fled, leaving behind a large population of people dependent on the government...
...The current mayor, Ray Nagin, can’t help but be an improvement. Mayor Nagin is no doubt in shock, like everyone else. In a perfect world, this would be no time to criticize his performance. But it’s now that the eyes of the country are on him, and it’s now that he must take charge, to counter the indelible images marauding looters have already stamped on a deluged city. Nagin must stop making comments like this: “We’re not even dealing with dead bodies. They're just pushing them on the side.” He must recover himself and vow publicly, over and over, to mourn the dead, to recover his city from the waters, and to rebuild as quickly as is humanly possible.
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