« The Pathology of the Tehran Times | Main | The Patriot Act &The War on Drugs »
February 23, 2006
One Foot In Ankle Deep Water, Other Foot in Mouth
New Orleans officials seemingly don't have that little voice inside their heads that tells them when to keep their mouths shut:
New Orleans doesn't want its poorest residents back — unless they agree to work.It's like the immigration debate, but with Americans.That was the message from three New Orleans City Council members who said government programs have "pampered" the city's residents for too long.
The news that some New Orleans City Council members weren't keen on the city's poorest returning home added another layer of discomfort in Houston, where local residents and elected officials alike have stretched to meet the needs of thousands of Louisiana residents in the months after Hurricane Katrina.
Chief among the complaints: Houston didn't discriminate when New Orleanians — from the poorest to the richest — filled this city's homes, hotels, motels and shelters. And Houston didn't flinch when nearly 100,000 evacuees needed subsidized housing for up to a year. So why, asked one Houston city councilman, are only the educated, healthy and employable welcome back in New Orleans?
Posted by Conor at February 23, 2006 01:53 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.insidesocal.com/MT/mt-tb.cgi/197
Comments
Whoa. Are you serious?
How can a city officials CHOOSE who can live in said city? We cannot start discriminating against the poor. What happens if all other states follow New Orleans' example and start proclaiming that those unfit to work cannot live there? Does that mean those people have to leave the country?
Some people need to start seeing that not everything is perfect.
Posted by: Evans at February 23, 2006 04:04 PM
I must agree, the New Orleans officials do seem to lack a little tact. However, I don't believe they are all too wrong. Imagine a family, a mother and father, having to support a numerous amount of people: kids, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. It is possible to for the couple to scrape by and provide for all these dependents. However, the couple would get by a lot better if they were not depended on at all. This relates to the new orleans evacuees. New Orleans should allow the able people back into New Orleans to rebuild and prosper before shoving all the dependents on them. I dont know if i explained my point clearly. any comments?
Posted by: Richard at February 23, 2006 06:39 PM
The fact that the members of the City Council of New Orleans would even consider denying the return of the poorest is unfair, absurd, and a flagrant and egregious offense towards American society and everything moral mankind stands for. The salience of understanding that our country was founded greatly on the idea of freedom is undeniable. To deny the poorest but not others is to deny the poorest's freedom. America was made as the "land of the free" and if the officials are even thinking of taking away the poorest's freedom, they are contradicting ideas the very founders of our nation stood for. Also, the status of the poorest is a very reflection of society itself. So if anyone is to blame, it is all of society, including the city council members.
Posted by: Cy-town at February 23, 2006 07:55 PM