OT: Hurricanes, New Orleans

[Dave Bugg]

An online opinion piece? That's a good, solid bit of damning evidence.

[EXT]

I had a thought, most won't like it, but it could solve a couple of problems. Those areas that are way below sea level, use it as a land fill. Truck in garbage from all over, as available land fill space is getting rare, but many areas in most cities are built over former land fill as it was common in the past to use garbage and waste to fill in low areas and ravines. The city could make money charging for dumping at the same time raise up the area to above sea level. When it is full, the land will be high enough to compensate for the sinking for a while.

[Nate Nagel]

That actually could work, but it's not quite that easy. You'd have to deal with the runoff from the compacted fill (e.g. "cream of dumpster soup") the methane produced by decaying garbage, and the problem of getting the stuff compacted engough to build on in the first place (without having to drive deep pilings for every single building.)

That said, it has been done - e.g. Haneda Airport (Tokyo)

nate

[HeyBub]

I'm in Houston. After Katrina, 100,000 evacuees came here (and many didn't go back, even after Bush sent the rinse-cycle named Rita). Our town was a culture shock for many. I've had several Houston police officers tell me they routinely hear "Whatca mean I can't be doin' my 'hood with a malt and a toke?"

Fortunately, this type got arrested double-quick and those not arrested killed each other at a prodigious rate.

There were some refugees, however, who ended up in places like Houston or Salt Lake City or Walla-Walla who have been heard to say: "You mean I jes stand behind the counter and make Slurpees and I gets PAID for it? Well, shit, man, that be cool!" They've become productive members of their new communities.

We in Houston learned a lesson, too. For a hundred years many of us treasured fond memories of the friendliness and hospitality of New Orleans. When Katrina struck, we did our best to reciprocate. We got screwed by the criminals.

While the plans, this time, are necessarily confidential, I can say that the "Interstate 10 Vigilance Committee for the Suppression of Vice and the Promotion of Morality" intends to take an active role in evacuation plans, principally by directing busses to San Antonio.

[HeyBub]

I'm sure someone has run the numbers.

It would probably cost too much to bring the Iraqis over here to kill them.

[gfretwell]

I think it is around $87 Billion that we are paying US Sugar

[Kurt Ullman]

The methane produced could be used for powering at least part of the city.

[HeyBub]

Well, there's the economy. The economy was pretty good for the first six years of the Bush administration, in spite of 9-11, Katrina, the war, etc.

Then the Democrats took over. It's only taken them 18 months to f*ck it up - housing mess, oil prices, opera tickets.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Right, he didn't invent it, he created it.

His exact words are "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."

[Harry K]

It does not need the work force living in the bottom of a swimming pool right next door though. All the facilities would work just as well if the workers commuted in from 10 or 20 miles away.

Harry K

[nick hull]

Ever hear of busses or trains?

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

[Caesar Romano]

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:20:49 -0400, "Bob" wrote Re Re: Hurricanes, New Orleans:

Amen to that.

[Oren]

LOL! Dubya is/was going to San Antonio from Austin. Maybe setting something up...

Make you a bumper sticker: "The best way to see Houston, is through a rear view mirror"

In Miami, it was: "Will the last American leaving Miami, please bring the flag"

NO should secede from the union, declare war on the United States, surrender immediately, and file for foreign aid.

Worked in the Conch Republic, Monroe Co, FL.

[Frank]

I actually saw one here in northern Delaware a few years ago. It was ripping up a school gym as I drove by and also damaged 6 houses. Looked like a scene out of the Wizard of Oz.

I've also seen houses flooded out here when a creek overflowed.

But, it is insanity to rebuild in an area that's prone to be inundated. I don't care if someone is stupid enough to do it, just don't expect the rest of us to pay for it.

[Stormin Mormon]

Gore might have taxed the rich, to pay for the repairs.

[Jim Yanik]

Oren wrote in news: [e-mail]:

How do you like the DemocRAT (on YouTube video!!)wishing that the hurricane makes a big mess of NOLA and takes away attention from the RNC? Or godless Michael Moore saying it's God's will the hurricane is hitting NOLA the same time as the convention.

Man,those DemocRATs are MEAN AND NASTY folk.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Sounds good but . . . .

I read this yesterday

from: , for tax year 2006:

Top Total Income Tax Revenue (%) Adjusted Gross Income Share (%)

50% 97.01 87.49 25% 86.27 68.16 10% 70.79 47.32 5% 60.14 36.66 1% 39.89 22.06

So, from the IRS data: the bottom 50% are making 12.5% of adjusted gross income and paying less than 3% of all income taxes while the top 1% are making 22% of adjusted gross income while paying nearly 40% of all federal income taxes.

Oh, and just to further emphasize how the Bush tax cuts have so benefited the rich, the following are the data for the tax years from 2000 to 2006

Year Total Income Tax (%) AGI Share (%) Ratio (Tax/AGI)

2000 37.42 20.81 1.80 2001 33.89 17.53 1.93 2002 33.71 16.12 2.09 2003 34.27 16.77 2.04 2004 36.89 19.00 1.94 2005 39.38 21.20 1.86 2006 39.89 22.06 1.81

So, despite the "massive tax cuts to benefit the wealthy", the % share of taxes relative to the % share of AGI has hardly moved, and during the years immediately following 9/11 when the left-wing was bleating about how the rich were benefiting from the tax cuts for the wealthy, the top 1% were actually paying a greater share of their income to the treasury than they were during the last year of the Clinton presidency.

[Kurt Ullman]

Total effective tax rate (individual PLUS Social Security did the same. In 2003 (last I had available to me) the total effective tax rate for the lowest quintile fell from 6.4 in 2000 to 4.8% in '03. Second quintile fell from 13.3 to 9.8. Which of course put the kibosh to the suggestion that FICA and SS taxes messed up the lower wage earners.

[Don Klipstein]

How about New Jersey folks?

Not that New Jersey has had an outright hurricane strike since about

104-105 years ago, but hurricanes ain't the only storms that cause severe beach erosion!

As in "Nor'easters", which batter the USA East Coast mainly near and above Cape Hatteras NC, generally from late October to early May, with much of the historic worst ones in March?

=====================

Oh, and isn't about 63% of the entire USA that was ever known to be flooded expected to endure a "100 year flood" within the next 100 years? I think that those who live in 100 and especially 500 year floodplains should not burden the taxpayers for anything, except maybe for assistance to move to safer ground!

And I think that anyone having a home or business on the USA coast anywhere from the Rio Grande to Virginia Beach needs to be doing so at their own risk of hurricanes! And anyone having a home or business on the USA East Coast around or north of Cape Hatteras needs to do so at their own risk from Nor'easters! And anyone having a home or business on the USA West Coast needs to do so at their own risk from the storms that hit there, especially the ones that are worsened by El Nino (mainly Southern CA) and La Nina (mainly north of SF).

Also, I think that American taxpayers should not be burdened to help any fellow Americans that are stricken by an earthquake after moving into "earthquake country".

- Don Klipstein ( [e-mail])

[Don Klipstein]

I would move the port and the city a hundred or two miles upstream.

Philadelphia has quite a fine port about 100 miles upriver, hampered only by locally strong unions and local-&-state high taxes!

Baltimore has quite a competitive port!

- Don Klipstein ( [e-mail])