This sez more about why we need to take the 50 bil. that Bush wants to spend across seas and spend it down there
But much of New Orleans still looks like a wasteland, with businesses shuttered and houses abandoned. Basic services such as schools, libraries, public transportation and childcare are at half their original levels and only two-thirds of the region's licensed hospitals are open. Workers are often scarce. Rents have skyrocketed. Crime is rampant.
Along Mississippi's 70-mile shoreline, harsh economic realities are hampering rebuilding. Cities like Biloxi and Pascagoula are making progress, but areas nearer to Katrina's original landfall look barely improved, with most oceanfront lots still vacant and weedy.
Many projects are hamstrung by the soaring costs of construction and insurance, while federal funding has been slow to flow to cities. Other economic indicators are down such as population, employment and housing supplies.
The performance by the president and the federal government in the immediate aftermath of the storm severely dented Bush's image as a take-charge leader. So, as on other visits, the president and his team arrived here armed with facts and figures to show how much the Bush administration has done to fulfill his promise 2 1/2 weeks after the storm that "we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes, to help citizens rebuild."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070830/...ush_katrina_28