Should the goverment be held responsible for their role in Katrina?

Question

It seems that no one has really has addressed the fact of the goverments role in the relief effort when hurrance Katria hit New Orleans. It seems that this issue has been swept under the rug becasue of the war

Answer 1

hey when the poor black comunnity goes down in a flood......why rebiuld,waste of money,the gangs and trash all the trash will just come back and mess it all up again. see what happens is wait until the people have nothing to do but sell thier property for dirt cheap ,go in buy it all up,then rebuild it into housing and planned comunitys so expensive it will keep the poor out.......so should the goverment be held responsible........of course,and thier doing exactley what they want........patience sometimes means profit........im not saying it is right,but with all the money going to a war and other off news deals...........this is what america has turned into.........welcome to bush land..........

Answer 2

I disagree, the devastation caused by Katrina will be with us for a long time and I don't know anyone who has forgot. Although, it would appear that the government should be more proactive, I keep hearing about Nagen counterdicting some official directive and the governor still doesn't seem to have the involvement she should have.

In my minds eye, the government did what they could given the circumstance. Just when was it that the population of the United States started to believe that any federal organization was efficient? For the time I've been on this earth, the federal governement has always been slow at processing anything. Why would they all of a sudden start getting better for Katrina?

I know it's easy to sit in my chair and type an opinion but, seems to me that Nagen and the governor need to start accepting the help they have been offered rather than worry about whether or not it's politically safe to put a grocery store next to a subdivision. And then, when the help says no, it's turned into a racial thing.

Answer 3

If by government you mean the City of New Orleans, Ray Na gen, and the State of Louisiana, Governor Blanca, then absolutely yes. They could have done so much more before the hurricane hit, but they did not.

The Governor is the reason that President Bush is trying, or passed, the legislature that allows him to mobilize the a state's National Guard for disasters over a Governor.

The federal government has been taking lumps for that fiasco, when it should be Louisiana and New Orleans.

Answer 4

All governments should take the blame, from the federal, (which has) to state (which has not) to city (which watched from the W). The feds have been there ready to write the check and the state (is waiting on the list of what to spend it on. Political BS) and Nagin was told to get his people out by Bush and others in the govenment but did not. ie busses floating when they could have been used.

This issue has not been swept under the rug. It WILL be used in the upcoming election.

Answer 5

Of course they should. This is their people that they have forgotten about and are focusing on a foreign country instead. The problem is no one cares about New Orleans. It's a poor city in a poor state and poor people don't vote or have any political power. So there is no reason for a politican, republican or democrat, not from the region to give a rats a*s about that place. Unless a politician see's some sort of advantage, whether politically or monetarily, out of helping NO recover, no one will do a damn thing. Talking about the war can score you poltical points or financial support for campaigns. Talking about Katrina won't get you anything. Louisiana is not a reliably red state all the time so republicans are more interested in helping Mississippi than LA. Democrats are too busy trying to beat republicans and are so full of themeselves, all they do is give lip service and blame Bush and never actually do anything to help these people either.

All these people do is TALK and TALK and TALK about helping NOLA, but nothing ever gets done. No one has the balls to step in and turn this city around. Several organizations like the Urban Land Institute and others have stepped up and produced brilliant redevelopment plans but no one in that damn city will enforce it and see it through. I've been wanting to go down there and help them rebuild b/c I figured it would be a good place for someone with an Urban Studies and Planning degree to get a planning job, but I'm waiting for them to start comprehensive redevelopment and for the federal govt to start distributing money for rebuilding. But none of that has been done in the more than 1.5 years since Katrina!

It's sad, NO finally had the opportunity to revuild itself and correct all the problems that have plagued it in the past but unfortunately political ineptitude and lack of will has left it fending for itself. America is letting one of it's most historic and culturally significant places die and sink into the ocean. NOLA is to America as what Venice is too Italy in terms of historical significance and culture, yet they are trying to save their city from drowning while we are letting ours slowly drown.

And for the first poster who doesn't understand why people think the govt owes them something; We pay them taxes out of our hard earned money and pay their salaries. So yes, the govt owes us something back for allowing them to exist and operate and for spending our tax dollars.

Answer 6

I think this question assumes that the federal government had some responsibility to begin with! I think we as citizens expect far to much from the federal government and therefore are indignant when the perceived help is "slow to arrive". I personally think that state and local authorities should take back the responsibility for providing services for their residents. It's easy to blame someone else for your troubles, if you don't like the way things are running do something to change the outcome.

Answer 7

It's a state issue and the state neglected the issue. The state should be held responsible and not the federal government. However, the federal government should step in and start holding some state officials responsible for not doing their jobs properly.

Louisiana has had a corrupt state government for decades and someone should do something about it.... like the people for instance.

Answer 8

The administration in charge at the time has a lot to answer for in the case of Katrina. People are still living in utter devastation while promises made are being broken.

Our government has stopped responding to public opinion. We, as individuals can try to do what we can and by writing to our elected officials can only hope that perhaps we will get some response.

Answer 9

there's no longer something a lot of human beings might like extra effective than to pin the blame in this disaster on Republicans, and it incredibly is tempting to accomplish that in a unique way. whether, there are regulatory companies in place and the custom of those companies, whether in agriculture, commerce or exertions, are in many cases keen on the communities and sectors they oversee. It has continually been this type. To me, BP is the best perpetrator in this mess yet we as a society have forced exploration in those deep waters with little understanding of the unfavorable aspects and little flavor for understanding the matters underlying our reliance on oil, the two foreign places and family contributors.

Answer 10

While most agree there was some neglect, the people whose opinions matter most re-elected one (or more) of the most culpable leader(s) during the hurricane. So evidently, there's nothing more we can do. Leaders are held accountable by our votes, and they're being voted back in. So all we can do now is move foreward.