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Originally Posted by bparker805
This is NOT Bush's responsibilty. The tax payers were going to be the ones responsible for the repairs. I heard an amount of 20 billion to upgrade these levees... Now is it the federal government that is responsible for repairing the levees or does it come down to the state or local government to fix it? And if it does, did it come to a vote? Did tax payers decide that 20 billion was way too much? My guess is that if it did, people would have scoffed at ponying up 20 bill!
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Are you saying that nothing funded with taxpayer money is Bush's responsibility? I don't remember seeing "Iraq war" on any ballot. How much have we spent on that?
The New Orleans levee projects have been federally funded for years and years, because the value of New Orleans to the national economy is well-established. Unfortunately, the levee projects have been federally
underfunded for years and years, as well.
It's not Bush's fault, because the underfunding certainly did not begin with Bush. However, he did nothing to right that wrong, either. Pointing the finger at Bush is like pointing the finger at Nagin, in that regard.
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Originally Posted by http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4216508.stm
When Hurricane Camille, a rare top Category Five storm, hit Mississippi in 1969, just missing New Orleans, the levees around the city were strengthened - but only enough to protect against a Category Three hurricane.
The gamble was taken that another Category Five would not threaten New Orleans anytime soon. This attitude prevailed among successive administrations.
Lt General Carl Strock, the Army Corps of Engineers commander, admitted that there was a collective mindset - that New Orleans would not be hit. Washington rolled the dice, he said.
After flooding in 1995, the existing system was improved. However, the sums were relatively small. About $500m was spent over the next 10 years.
From 2003 onwards, the Bush administration cut funds amid charges from the Army Corps of Engineers that the money was transferred to Iraq instead. The latest annual budget was cut from $36.5m to $10.4m.
A study to examine defences against a category Four or Five storm was proposed, at a cost of $4m. The Times-Picayune quoted the Army Corps of Engineers project manager Al Naomi as saying: "The Iraq war forced the Bush administration to order the New Orleans district office not to begin any new studies."
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Now, are you going to fish, or are you going to bitch?