What's Wrong With NOLA?

Poverty in one of those damned if you do (something), damned if you don't (do something) issues.


I've read many of the seemingly endless lists of studies and reports dealing with the causes and effects of poverty, but their seems to be very few studies or reports that have usable answers to the problem. Often, when questioning the flaws in the accusatory points of view, I'm referred to another list of studies and reports that fail to give answers to the problem. With all of these highly educated and accredited professionals studying these effects and causes - why has there been so little progress in this arena? Are these professionals so well educated that they fail to see the real problems involved in poverty? (i.e. - George Bush assumed that a "Shock and Awe" strategy would quickly win a war. He failed to take into account the many social constructs and the combination of loyalties in which the people that he was trying to subjugate would ultimately rely. Like America (only) throwing money at the problem of poverty and not addressing other issues.) Are their views those that sound good in theory but often fall short in practice?

The belief in the myth of "The Universal Solution" is also to blame. There is no magical solution to eradicate poverty. Obtaining a good education seems to be the most often cited response to the poverty question. pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps seems to be another often stated response to the problem. Access (the answer to "Institutional Racism") is another component in the overall equation of poverty. Giving money directly to the poor (without the proper preparation in managing money) seems to be the least effective answer to solving the problem. Are these people poor because they lack the necessary skills to do better or can they not do better and are lacking in marketable skills because they are poor?

Last night, I was watching ABC's World News Now. I saw a report on NOLA evacuees complaining about the inconveniences of having to stay in shelters. WTF? If the government fails to evacuate these people, the media has a field day. If the government does evacuate these people and the people have to wait longer to eat, wait to bathe or use an outhouse - these people feel that more is owed to them. Many evacuees (even from areas evacuated but not effected by Guztav) are looking to the government to solve their problems. I just spoke to members of a few families today about their expectation of free rent and $2000.00 checks. It seems that many evacuees only evacuated in the hope of having some monetary gain from the storm.
Many evacuees and their supporters in the new media seem to suffer from "Social Munchhausen Syndrome" (the condition of making a bigger deal of a situation than is merited or the act of creating a problem in order to appear to fix the problem). These evacuees have been given free transportation away from a dangerous situation and now they have the nerve to complain about a shower?

Perhaps I'm suffering from "Disaster Fatigue" or "Hurricane Fatigue". I'm tired of evacuees from NOLA complaining about what someone else should do for them.
Louisiana is ranked as number thirty-eight (out of fifty) in terms of it's graduation rate. The state is ranked forty-seventh in terms of per-capita income. Poor and under-educated is what we are starting with when dealing with this state of poverty.

The evacuation went more smoothly this time around. Many complain because there wasn't enough damage done to satisfy their entertainment needs. I just spoke to people from Houma who lost everything. Tell them that not enough damage was done.

The population in NOLA is 300,000 or only about sixty-five percent of it's pre-Katrina population. With a population willing to evacuate and the experiences from Katrina, NOLA did good job in avoiding many problems that plagued the city the last time around.
There were more than 2,000,000 people evacuated
There are over 1,000,000 people without electricity
There are only 9 deaths attributed to Gustav.
There have been only 2 looters arrested.
There is more than 10,000,000,000 dollars worth of damage caused by the storm.
Mayor Nagin has asked many residents to stay away from the city until the streets are cleared and the infrastructure is in place to support the city (a request that has gone largely ignored).

Yes, I'm tired of people complaining. If I see Anderson Cooper interview someone about how little the system did for New Orleans, I'm through with NOLA.
These people will have to fix their own problems or deal with the consequences themselves.

(Note; To anyone thinking that I'm cold-hearted - Accept this challenge.
Adopt a family.
All of the time spent whining about our system could be better spent in tutoring the children in your adopted family with their homework.
Don't donate to charity (a faceless and detached act). Use the money to help your adopted family catch-up on bills, buy groceries, clothes, bus passes and school supplies.
Instead of chastising me, spend that time and effort mentoring your adopted family in the social skills and mentality needed to sustain their newly acquired lifestyle.
Do all of this while being on call for every minor crisis for ...oh,say..two years.
After two years of you acquiring actual/empirical knowledge - then we can talk about facts and not theories.)