..then why pour one more dime into that hellhole?  Those people are not going to return-at least the criminal element that's living over here now.

HH
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New Orleans Recovery Could Take 25 Years

Mar 30 1:41 PM US/Eastern

By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON

A full recovery in New Orleans could take 25 years as homeowners, businesses and tourists are coaxed back to the city devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration's Gulf Coast recovery coordinator said Thursday.

"We kind of want it to happen overnight, or I do, but it's going to take some time," White House coordinator Don Powell said in an interview with Associated Press reporters and editors. "This could be five to 25 years for it all to fit into place."

Powell added: "It's been a bottom-up process and it's complex."

He said that much of what's needed for the return of New Orleans' population is "out of our control," including housing, ensuring safety and robust investment by the private sector.

Much of the economic rebirth hinges on flood maps that will set safety standards for rebuilding, Powell said.

The four parishes that make up New Orleans and its immediate suburbs have been waiting for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to issue the flood maps for months. Powell said he expects FEMA to release the maps soon, but that the data largely is tied to new levee cost estimates that would nearly triple earlier projections _ to $6 billion _ for protecting the city.

we could back fill it in 1 yr..  

Another hurricane will probably hit it before 25 years are up.

Well then those lazy bastards better get to work.

The 25 year estimate is a .gov estimate, which means they are padding it by a few (15 probably) years for job security of whatever bueracracy they assign to oversea the rebuilding of the city. I bet if the gov stepped out of it, and let the people decide how best to proceed we would see amazing improvement in half that time.

Keep the historic districts and bulldoze the rest.

Quoted: Keep the historic districts and bulldoze the rest.

+1.3147
The shitty people have already moved out and ARE NOT coming back.
Houston can thank them for around 1/4mil   And crime is up to prove it

The corruption that is alive and well in N.O. will ensure that the recovery is dragged out as long as possible. Plenty of scumbags making a lot of money on this, of course it's gonna take a long, long time.

25 years worth of graft, corruption, bribery and embezzlement.     I wonder what it will cost us taxpayers to fund that big criminal enterprise?

I drove through New Orleans last month.  Traffic was a little lighter than I remember it in past years.  There was a lot of hustle and bustler as far as I could see... lots of pickup trucks belonging to roofers, electricians, plumbers, etc.  Some areas appeared normal, others nearly every building being renovated.  

It looked to me like the best thing the govt can do is to stay out of people's way.

I will admit, I did not go through areas such as "Lower 9th Ward" that had undergone flooding to the rooftops.

New Orleans will never be like it was.

From what I understand, the demographics has shifted.  It will no longer be a Democratically controlled "chocolate city".  The Dems are really PO'd, as New Orleans usually swung that state over to the Dems in years past.

I have no dobut it will take that long.

Yep, and next hurricane will see the "Chocolate City" turn into "Rich chocolatey Ovaltine" again.

......why pour one more dime into that hellhole?

IT'S BELOW SEA LEVEL!!!!!!!!!!!!    

Quoted: ......why pour one more dime into that hellhole? IT'S BELOW SEA LEVEL!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am not sure which is worse; it below sea level or who the mayor is,  both are definitely against it.