I can't see why everyone seems to think that the recovery of New Orleans is not going to plan ?

Mayor Ray Nagin likes to boast that "New Orleans is back," pointing to the tourists who again prowl the French Quarter and the Tulane students who crowd Magazine Street bistros; but the current population of New Orleans on the west bank of the Mississippi is about the same as that of Disney World on a normal day. More than 60 percent of Nagin's constituents--including an estimated 80 percent of the African-Americans--are still scattered in exile with no obvious way home.
In their absence, local business elites, advised by conservative think tanks, "New Urbanists" and neo-Democrats, have usurped almost every function of elected government. With the City Council largely shut out of their deliberations, mayor-appointed commissions and outside experts, mostly white and Republican, propose to radically shrink and reshape a majority-black and Democratic city. Without any mandate from local voters, the public-school system has already been virtually abolished, along with the jobs of unionized teachers and school employees. Thousands of other unionized jobs have been lost with the closure of Charity Hospital, formerly the flagship of public medicine in Louisiana. And a proposed oversight board, dominated by appointees of President Bush and Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, would end local control over city finances.


And to answer questions over Federal resposibility ........


An early, deadly blow was Treasury Secretary John Snow's refusal to guarantee New Orleans municipal bonds, forcing Mayor Nagin to lay off 3,000 city employees on top of the thousands of education and medical workers already jobless. The Bush Administration also blocked bipartisan measures to increase Medicaid coverage for Katrina evacuees and to give the State of Louisiana--facing an estimated $8 billion in lost revenues over the next few years--a share of the income generated by its offshore oil and gas leases.
Even more egregious was the flagrant redlining of black neighborhoods by the Small Business Administration (SBA), which rejected a majority of loan applications by local businesses and homeowners. At the same time, a bipartisan Senate bill to save small businesses with emergency bridge loans was sabotaged by Bush officials, leaving thousands to face bankruptcy and foreclosure. As a result, the economic foundations of the city's African-American middle class (public-sector jobs and small businesses) have been swept away by deliberate decisions made in the White House. Meanwhile, in the absence of federal or state initiatives to employ locals, low-income blacks are losing their niches in the construction and service sectors to more mobile outsiders.
In stark contrast to its neglect of neighborhood relief, the White House has made herculean efforts to reward its own base of large corporations and political insiders. Representative Nydia Velazquez, who sits on the House Small Business Committee, pointed out that the SBA has allowed large corporations to get $2 billion in federal contracts while excluding local minority contractors.





So, the plan actually is to forclose, give cheap land for developer mates and send the blacks to other states.


So what's not working with this gameplan ?

All seems on track to me.

Quote from Racer X NZ :

I can't see why everyone seems to think that the recovery of New Orleans is not going to plan ?

Mayor Ray Nagin likes to boast that "New Orleans is back," pointing to the tourists who again prowl the French Quarter and the Tulane students who crowd Magazine Street bistros; but the current population of New Orleans on the west bank of the Mississippi is about the same as that of Disney World on a normal day. More than 60 percent of Nagin's constituents--including an estimated 80 percent of the African-Americans--are still scattered in exile with no obvious way home.
In their absence, local business elites, advised by conservative think tanks, "New Urbanists" and neo-Democrats, have usurped almost every function of elected government. With the City Council largely shut out of their deliberations, mayor-appointed commissions and outside experts, mostly white and Republican, propose to radically shrink and reshape a majority-black and Democratic city. Without any mandate from local voters, the public-school system has already been virtually abolished, along with the jobs of unionized teachers and school employees. Thousands of other unionized jobs have been lost with the closure of Charity Hospital, formerly the flagship of public medicine in Louisiana. And a proposed oversight board, dominated by appointees of President Bush and Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, would end local control over city finances.


And to answer questions over Federal resposibility ........


An early, deadly blow was Treasury Secretary John Snow's refusal to guarantee New Orleans municipal bonds, forcing Mayor Nagin to lay off 3,000 city employees on top of the thousands of education and medical workers already jobless. The Bush Administration also blocked bipartisan measures to increase Medicaid coverage for Katrina evacuees and to give the State of Louisiana--facing an estimated $8 billion in lost revenues over the next few years--a share of the income generated by its offshore oil and gas leases.
Even more egregious was the flagrant redlining of black neighborhoods by the Small Business Administration (SBA), which rejected a majority of loan applications by local businesses and homeowners. At the same time, a bipartisan Senate bill to save small businesses with emergency bridge loans was sabotaged by Bush officials, leaving thousands to face bankruptcy and foreclosure. As a result, the economic foundations of the city's African-American middle class (public-sector jobs and small businesses) have been swept away by deliberate decisions made in the White House. Meanwhile, in the absence of federal or state initiatives to employ locals, low-income blacks are losing their niches in the construction and service sectors to more mobile outsiders.
In stark contrast to its neglect of neighborhood relief, the White House has made herculean efforts to reward its own base of large corporations and political insiders. Representative Nydia Velazquez, who sits on the House Small Business Committee, pointed out that the SBA has allowed large corporations to get $2 billion in federal contracts while excluding local minority contractors.





So, the plan actually is to forclose, give cheap land for developer mates and send the blacks to other states.


So what's not working with this gameplan ?

All seems on track to me.

Dude this stuff you posted is sooo slanted I'd almost call it sarcasm.
and most of it seems to be manipulated facts
Like this part:
An early, deadly blow was Treasury Secretary John Snow's refusal to guarantee New Orleans municipal bonds, forcing Mayor Nagin to lay off 3,000 city employees on top of the thousands of education and medical workers already jobless. (sorry Don't know how to do the quote thingee )

You do NOT just "throw" money at a problem. A comprehensive plan needs to be formulated for how those funds are going to be spent.
and re paid. No one has one yet.

then this:
In their absence, local business elites,advised by conservative think tanks, "New Urbanists" and neo-Democrats, have usurped almost every function of elected government.
This is true. what's also true and not being mentioned is that this group is one of the few groups over there that has their heads out of their butts and are getting something done. This is a do or die situation for them as much as it is any one elses over there. only if they fail, a whole lot of people are going to go down with them and for a lot of the residents, rebuilding will become a waste of time.
Cause there won't be any work or services that are usually provided by the "local business elites" And just how does the writer know that these business elites are being advised by these people? He doesn't! The think tanks and new urbanists and whatever are just a fancy name for consultants. Just because a few are down there trying to exploit things doesn't mean any one is listening to them. Use common sense on this. If there was a storm that hit New Zealand and messed up everything, If my dumb ass was to show up offering advice with how to deal with things and my solutions were radically different than any thing you know and understand, would you be inclined to follow my advice?
Even more egregious was the flagrant redlining of black neighborhoods by the Small Business Administration (SBA), which rejected a majority of loan applications by local businesses and homeowners.
Why do people ALWAYS gotta play the race card? If it MUST be played, at least know when to play it. ROFL do you know who owns most of the houses in those black neighborhoods?
that are getting redlined and why?
Why its "local business elites,". Except most people call them landlords. and why? All kinds a reasons, but mostly due to bad credit ratings and the nasty mortgage slump we have over here.

Thousands of other unionized jobs have been lost
This is a bad thing? All unions do here anymore is make you pay them for a job and tell you who to vote for.

"New Urbanists" and neo-Democrats, have usurped almost every function of elected government.
Uhhh... do people just make up words as they go along? Are these people like metrosexuals or something? Most Democrats in the Southern US are what they call "yellow-dog" democrats. It goes back to the post civil war period where people would "vote for any old yellow dog as long as they were a democrat". never heard of a neo democrat.

But again it doesn't matter. this article is just another example of someone wasting time trying to point fingers instead of actually doing something. Only this time it seems that the guy is trying to profit off of the mess somehow. Maybe to push an agenda or something.

Trying to put a political slant to the problems of New Orleans is just missing the whole point of things. The problem government wise is simply a matter of the political machine that operates N.O. doesn't seem to be able to mesh cleanly with the beuruacratic red tape nonsense of the federal Gov't. It doesn't really matter which party which gov't is or whether it was the same party. these problems would still occur.