A wide-ranging plan to improve the availability and quality of health care services in the New Orleans area and reduce the region's longtime reliance on the Charity Hospital System was presented to Gov. Kathleen Blanco Thursday, a day before a federally mandated deadline....Blanco unveils health care plan, Jan Moller, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 10/20/2006
In 2000's census, New Orleans had a population just under half a million. Today, according to Reuters, its population is less than 220,000. That's great timing for Governor Blanco's medical plan. With 60% of the population of New Orleans vanished to other states, New Orleans can spend the same amount of money as proposed, but save $6 out of $10 it would have spent. Then, the Governor can give that money as a donation to the New Orleans Levee Board. The latter institution gained great modern fame last fall when its principal area of responsibilities, the levees that are supposed to protect the city from hurricane storm surges, collapsed, killing a thousand people, and ruining the Crescent City for sixty percent of its population. (The casino funded by the Levee Board, however, is now back in operation.) Given Governor Blanco's sterling record of non-involvement in the Katrina disaster, she seems like the perfect person to give the Levee Board additional largesse. I'd just love to hear the Governor sing "let the good times roll." Trouble is, given her record during Katrina, she'd probably blame the President of the United States if she sang off-key.
Luther
1 comment:
The New Orleans Levee Board was responsible for mowing the grass on the city's levees and picking up 30% of the cost. The Corps alone was responsible for designing and building them.
www.levees.org
The press never really picked up the story but the USACE admitted to being directly responsible for over 2/3rds of the flooding months ago (IPET Report). Other investigations place their blame much higher.
Now, I hate Blanco on many levels but I think the role of the Corp in this mess can't be ignored. Had they done their part you would not even know who Blanco or Nagin were and Brown would still have a job. Mississippi should have been the headline on Katrina - New Orleans should have been the footnote.
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