Rebuild The 9th Ward?
There is a question about whether or not to rebuild the 9th ward. Some state that not rebuilding would be racially motivated. There are a lot of homes there and, according to the article, most of the home are inhabited by the poor.
MSNBC.com
A neighborhood tucked into a deep depression between two canals, railroad tracks and the Mississippi River, New Orleans’s Lower Ninth has spent more of the past five weeks underwater than dry. Entire houses knocked off foundations. Barbershops and corner groceries flattened. Cars tossed inside living rooms. What remains is coated in muck — a crusty layer of canal water, sewage and dirt. Mold is rapidly devouring interiors.
The question now is whether the Lower Ninth Ward, which was devastated 40 years ago by Hurricane Betsy, should be resuscitated again.
As it turns out:
About half the houses are rentals.
Which means that, of the 20,000 people that lived there, half did not own their home. Most of them could easily be relocated.
Yet even some liberal activists, people who have worked to buoy the fortunes of the Lower Ninth, are beginning to talk favorably about clearing it away — if residents are well compensated and given suitable housing elsewhere.
Why do we have to compensate renters? Heck, why do we have to compensate anyone? Isn’t that what insurance is for?
Tags: Domestic Issues


