What would be your ideal solution?

How much money (from where)? Who does the clean up and restoration? What projects need attention? How would you get the economy going again?

First decide what they will do with the levies. As it now stands the low areas will not be any better protected then before Katrina. They need to remove the rubble. It is all over after six months. No matter what is rebuilt, the destroyed buildings and trash must be removed. Finally since the insurance will not pay for Flood damage and many people have no way to rebuild, a way to pay for the rebuilding homes and businesses must be found. We were able to spend between $300-400 Billion in Iraq and now it is time rebuild our country. As to where the money will come from-- Taxes NOT MORE DEBT! We have a responsibility to the people of our country that goes ahead of our responsibility to other countries. The vastness of this damage can not be ignored and goes far beyond with the individuals or State and local government can fund!

When the President ask for Eighty billion,or whatever the figure was,to rebuild New Orleans guess who was waiting in the wings,HALIBURTON. All home grown small business contractors,and there were many capapable, were bared from getting the rebuilding contracts.Haliburton moved in,without compettive bids and according to the media, hired illegals at two dollars or so an hour.When the media brought this to the public and caused an uproar,Haliburton shut the operation down with the blessings,if not the direction, of the Vice President.This is why New Orleans is suffering.The Politicans [both sides] have decided the American people be dammed on any subject.There only concern is to fill their pockets.
As Americans grow more and more weary of the limited political choices,they will start considering alternative governing choices.The Politicans will be the first to pay the price.

When the President ask for Eighty billion,or whatever the figure was,to rebuild New Orleans guess who was waiting in the wings,HALIBURTON. All home grown small business contractors,and there were many capapable, were bared from getting the rebuilding contracts.Haliburton moved in,without compettive bids and according to the media, hired illegals at two dollars or so an hour.When the media brought this to the public and caused an uproar,Haliburton shut the operation down with the blessings,if not the direction, of the Vice President.This is why New Orleans is suffering.The Politicans [both sides] have decided the American people be dammed on any subject.There only concern is to fill their pockets. As Americans grow more and more weary of the limited political choices,they will start considering alternative governing choices.The Politicans will be the first to pay the price.

Sorry but this is a plain all out lie!

Finally since the insurance will not pay for Flood damage and many people have no way to rebuild, a way to pay for the rebuilding homes and businesses must be found

This is a waaaaay incorrect answer! The insurance company has no choice but to pay if the homeowner had the flood insurance. If they don't pay, they open themselves to a bunch of lawsuits for breech of contract.

Most people DO NOT have Flood Insurance because of the high cost. There is also the issue of WHAT CAUSED THE WATER TO DESTROY the properties? WIND. Thus, WHY does the normal Homeowners policy NOT COVER THE LOSSES?

Regardless, MOST people will not be receiving the money they need to rebuild from Insurance. That brings us back to the point of this Blog- There is NO HELP coming for over a million Americans that have lost EVERYTHING!

Most people DO NOT have Flood Insurance because of the high cost. There is also the issue of WHAT CAUSED THE WATER TO DESTROY the properties? WIND. Thus, WHY does the normal Homeowners policy NOT COVER THE LOSSES? Regardless, MOST people will not be receiving the money they need to rebuild from Insurance. That brings us back to the point of this Blog- There is NO HELP coming for over a million Americans that have lost EVERYTHING!

As "usual" you're incorrect! And just an FYI....if you live in a "flood" prone area you do NOT have an option on whether or not to carry flood insurance. If you've financed your home the lending institution will "mandate" that you have the coverage or you will NOT receive financing.

Hurricane Katrina will undoubtedly go down in history as the worst natural disaster to hit the United States. The current estimated cost to repair damage from Hurricane Katrina caused has reached $50.0 billion, much of which may be covered by insurance. Hurricane Katrina will have enormous impact on policyholders and their insurers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Policyholders will need to act carefully and in some cases promptly to protect their rights under insurance policies providing coverage for environmental claims, business interruption claims, property loss claims, and general liability claims.

Link

DRMILER You are full of SH*t
Most of the lower income people DID NOT HAVE MORTGAGES. These little homes were not financed and DID NOT HAVE INSURANCE! They could NEVER have afforded the Insurance Premiums. Again you ignore the issue. OUR Government has turned its back on over a million Americans that lost everything in the WORST storm in our history. This was worse then the Chicago fire and the San Francisco earth quake. The effected area is as large as England! We have not even removed the rubble in the six months since the storm mush less dealt with the 500,000 homes that were destroyed! If you believe we are doing what we should to help rebuild the lives of our people, you are truly a SAD Human being!

DRMILER You are full of SH*t Most of the lower income people DID NOT HAVE MORTGAGES. These little homes were not financed and DID NOT HAVE INSURANCE! They could NEVER have afforded the Insurance Premiums. Again you ignore the issue. OUR Government has turned its back on over a million Americans that lost everything in the WORST storm in our history. This was worse then the Chicago fire and the San Francisco earth quake. The effected area is as large as England! We have not even removed the rubble in the six months since the storm mush less dealt with the 500,000 homes that were destroyed! If you believe we are doing what we should to help rebuild the lives of our people, you are truly a SAD Human being!

"I'm" full of it? Just maybe "you" should go read the posted link "before" you start letting crap dribble from "your" mouth.

ya know...i wouldn't be surprised if younger readers who are subjected to drmiler wind up depressed and anxious over the possibility that they, too, might spend 40+ years on the planet and somehow manage to wind up dumber than they are now.*

this is from your link:

Insurers providing wind and rain property damage coverage may claim that all or most property damage was caused by rising waters/floods. It is also possible that carriers providing flood insurance will take the position that at least some of the damage was caused by wind and rain. The “finger pointing” in a dispute often delays payments and resolution of claims and may lead to litigation. Carriers may also attempt to allocate large losses to particular portions of a policy that have the lowest policy limits.

i suppose you can be forgiven (not really but..) for not having read down a couple paragraphs past the part you thought supported your point (even tho it didn't do anything of the sort).

what's truly inexplicable is seeing that you yourself bolded this phrase in the portion you quoted:

much of which may be covered by insurance

most of the time, i'm pretty proud of the fact i decided not to pursue a career in law because i know i woulda been way too tempted to take advantage of people like you who should, by all rights, know what's being implied when a lawyer says someone 'may' do something.

there seems to be substantial evidence to support the author's predictions insurers are gonna make a prodigious effort to weasel outta their responsibilities.

*by which i do not mean to suggest young = dumb, but rather to point out any expectation of gaining wisdom to offset gradual devolvement of the brain over time may be unfounded.

The pictures I saw which are what the members of Congress are seeing on their three day tour do not look anything like we are moving to solve the issue of restoring the Gulf. It looks like the third world and it is in the United States. As far as you can see is rubble and destroyed buildings. Where do you see the progress?

most of the time, i'm pretty proud of the fact i decided not to pursue a career in law because i know i woulda been way too tempted to take advantage of people like you who should, by all rights, know what's being implied when a lawyer says someone 'may' do something. there seems to be substantial evidence to support the author's predictions insurers are gonna make a prodigious effort to weasel outta their responsibilities. *by which i do not mean to suggest young = dumb, but rather to point out any expectation of gaining wisdom to offset gradual devolvement of the brain over time may be unfounded

"You" better go back and read "what" the col wrote. Let me help you:

Finally since the insurance will not pay for Flood damage and many people have no way to rebuild, a way to pay for the rebuilding homes and businesses must be found

He says "nothing" about trying to weasel out of paying....he "very" specifically says "will not pay". Weaseling out on a technicality would be legal. Really a very large act of bad faith. But still legal. Can't find a technicality? Then they "have" to pay or face a possible lawsuit for breech of contract! And BTW....the article I posted speaks of "possibilities", not facts. Including the section that you posted.

Wow, KB coming to Col's rescue just to take a hit at drmiller. Things are getting sadder and sadder in Col articles everytime.

Col, you got problems. Are you in New Orleans? I was in Miami when Andrew hit. I saw with my own eyes the destruction, i felt the winds, heard the noises and got lucky that nothing happened to me, my familty or our property. But things didn't change much in Jacksonville till almost a year later, even with the Gov'ts help. Katrina is being shown to have causes 3 times the amount of disaster that Andrew did and you expect results in 6 months? BTW the fact that Mardi Gras and New Orleans is back in business tells me that things are getting done. But what do you care. Strange though that you kept Bush's name out of your article or you replies for that matter. At least you placed the blame on more than one person but you still fail to see who is really responsible for all of this. The people themselves. Money can't just be handed as if it werer free, they have to make the effort to rebuild their own lives. I do agree that too much money has been spent on this war in Iraq, but I am not too happy with the idea of having to build someones house with my taxes. I don't work hard to earn a living so that someone can get a free house on me. But that's just my opinion. I believe we should help, but not pay for everything like you put it. Man you are so lame you need the Gov't to do everything for you. How sad when someone doesn't have what it takes to stand up on their own 2 feet that they need daddy president to give everything to them on a silver platter.

you need the Gov't to do everything for you. How sad when someone doesn't have what it takes to stand up on their own 2 feet that they need daddy president to give everything to them on a silver platter.

How sad that the people of NO have to rely on the bloodsucker insurance companies and bloodsucker incompetent New Orleans lawmakers and administrators like Ray "Chocolate City" Nagin to get back what they have lost.

Katrina is being shown to have causes 3 times the amount of disaster that Andrew did and you expect results in 6 months?

An excellent point, DJ. I have seen some "results", like the very hopeful Mardi Gras and the rebuilding efforts that are underway.

What I do not want to see is our national government throwing my tax money at New Orleans, for it to just end up in the corrupt local government's pockets. Do you know what percent of Live Aid funds actually went to starving Ethiopians? About 1%. Sound familiar?

The senators' hope? To soothe constituents who say they aren't doing enough for poor New Orleans. It's called fiscal responsibility.

And to the flood insurance issue, legislation is in the works for those who were not covered by flood insurance. Under the legislation, they will be granted retroactive flood coverage to insure them against Katrina losses. And that was from the US Congress. That's way more than generous.

BTW, congratulations go out to the COL. One article that doesn't name, mention, or infer GWB. I hoenstly steeled myself for how he'd spin this into being the Bush administration's fault. Would like to see more non-Bush articles... surely you take umbrage with more than W.

We are not talking about giving people things on a silver platter. We are talking about a million people without a home many of which do not have two dimes to rub together. Everything they and their families had is GONE. There are no jobs, no local or state tax revenue to help. Some people had NO insurance most likely because they could not afford the premiums. Some had homeowners policies which will not pay because their homes were destroyed by the water even though the water damage was caused by the WIND driven water caused the flooding. The choice for hundreds of thousands is help from the Federal Government or NO HOME! Most of the poor will not be helped by low interest loans because they can not afford to repay the loans. Hell many of these people did not even own a car when it came time to evacuate the area.