Monday, February 13, 2006
Louisiana Repurchase
"In a single stroke, the Baker plan would make the U.S. government the largest property owner/real estate agent in New Orleans. And property development is not the federal government's strong suit, to say the least (think HUD and Cabrini-Green in Chicago). By paying out at pre-Katrina values, the feds would also deter private investors from going in and buying up properties and thus creating a new market floor. Who knows what prices should be if Uncle Sam is setting them at what might be inflated pre-Katrina values? This is a recipe not for a rapid turn-around, but for making the feds the Donald Trump of New Orleans for a decade or more.
In any case, the idea that rebuilding is impossible without the guiding hand of a federal planning czar is historically inaccurate. After the great Chicago fire and the San Francisco earthquake, these cities were at least as desperate as New Orleans is today. But both were well on their way to restored glory within three to five years with little federal money and no central planning agency. We'd rather trust private homeowners and developers to make rational decisions about where re-investment in New Orleans should occur and--just as important in areas highly susceptible to future flooding--where it shouldn't."
In any case, the idea that rebuilding is impossible without the guiding hand of a federal planning czar is historically inaccurate. After the great Chicago fire and the San Francisco earthquake, these cities were at least as desperate as New Orleans is today. But both were well on their way to restored glory within three to five years with little federal money and no central planning agency. We'd rather trust private homeowners and developers to make rational decisions about where re-investment in New Orleans should occur and--just as important in areas highly susceptible to future flooding--where it shouldn't."
