[Rhodes22-list] Katrina Update

Brad Haslett flybrad at gmail.com
Sat Feb 3 05:05:51 EST 2007


Slim,

We agree on a lot of things.  Walls don't work.  We need to acknowledge that
as long as immigrants want to work, as long as there are jobs at twice the
new minimum wage that our own citizens won't take, and the immigrants will,
we should accommodate them.  I think the guest worker program is an idea
whose time has come.

Putting soldiers on the ground in the MS Gulf Coast won't solve the
problems.  Volunteer groups, churches, college clubs, etc., have done an
outstanding job of fixing and repairing homes that were salvageable.  The
homes closest to the beach were owned by well to do people and while
hurting, most of these folks are not homeless.  The lower income folks
further inland and apartment dwellers are the ones hurting.  The harsh
reality is that it is too expensive to rebuild on the former locations and
meet the new code and elevation requirements. It would be silly to not
require new codes and elevations, that's what happened after Camille and
"it's deja vu all over again". New housing projects are just now starting
much further inland.  No amount of troop deployments would speed the process
of land transfers, code hearings, infrastructure improvements, etc. that are
required before you build.  Then you would have the whole issue of using
public personnel on private projects, not something we want to start. The
businesses along US 90 will start to clean-up as soon as FEMA pulls out of
town. They didn't get the capital to buy hotels in the first place by
spending any more of their own money than they had to.

We disagree on Iraq and foreign policy, nothing new there.  You have the
same attitude as another Minnesota boy on foreign affairs.  Lindbergh is
still my hero.

I didn't agree with Ivins much but she was a feisty and entertaining ole'
broad.  RIP.

Brad


On 2/3/07, Slim <stevenalm at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Brad,
>
> This goes back to the discussion of undocumented workers and that's a
> thread
> by itself.  Briefly, my thoughts on that are that we should adhere to the
> law, period.  Change or amend the law as we wish (granted, no easy
> solution)
> but then hold everyone accountable--workers and employers alike.  You
> break
> the law, you go to jail or get deported.  "Guest workers" "work visas"
> call
> 'em whatever you want.  Set the quotas at whatever rate we can agree on
> and
> then enforce it.  If EVERYONE had to be accountable, then "illegal" jobs
> would be much harder to come by and there would be no motivation for
> illegal
> workers to cross the border.  The wall across Mexico won't work.  They
> tried
> that in China and Berlin and......you know.
>
> I'm trying to make a case for the government putting boots on the ground
> to
> aid its own citizenry.   No, I don't think a natural disaster
> automatically
> qualifies every individual for complete assistance, but what's wrong with
> this picture?  We're fighting the war on terror overseas for what?  Isn't
> it
> for the benefit of our citizenry here at home?  What could be more
> advantageous to us as a nation?  Should you poor sots down south have to
> suffer so we can protect you from the perceived forces abroad?  You would
> know, Brad, are those people down there worried about the terrorists or do
> they just want a roof over their head?  What if we pulled all the troops
> home and assigned them to the gulf coast?  Civil war in Iraq?  Frankly my
> dear, I don't give a damn.  If they want to kill each other, why should
> Americans die in the crossfire?  For political advantage?  For the
> oil?  For
> Haliburton?  For saving face?        ..... Home is more important.
>
> Slim
> P.S. Please don't send me links to 35 long-winded articles that I won't
> read.  (Unless it's Molly Ivins,  RIP)
>
> On 2/2/07 5:24 PM, "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Slim,
> >
> > Oh boy!  There was a huge surge of carpenters, brick layers, painters,
> > drywallers, and day laborers to the coast.  They were known as Mexicans
> and
> > they've since been run off.  One of the first things Bush did after
> Katrina
> > was suspend the Davis-Bacon Act.  The lefties in Congress and the
> liberals
> > went haywire - all  the usual suspects, Kenedy, et al,  made statements
> > like, "Bush is hitting workers below the belt just when they need help
> the
> > most!"  Apparently everyone was too encumbered with their BDS to do any
> > research on Davis-Bacon.  Davis-Bacon was enacted in 1931 to keep
> Southern
> > blacks from working on federal projects in NY and PA.  To this day it
> > discriminates against blacks who are less likely to belong to unionized
> > trades (in the interest of full disclosure I belong to a labor union,
> you
> > know that).  But what Davis-Bacon really does is add layer upon layer of
> > redtape and paperwork to federal projects.  Bush was right to suspend it
> in
> > the wake of Katrina and wrong to change his decision under pressure from
> > critics only a few weeks later.  At any rate, before Katrina the going
> wage
> > for truck drivers along the coast was $11 per hour and $8 for day labor.
> > The last Mexican run out of town was making $15 per hour and truck
> drivers
> > are getting $20.  I just spent the afternoon with a health insurance
> agent
> > to try and sweeten the pot to attract and keep employees.  Ahh, the
> > marketplace is a wonderful thing.
> >
> > I've gotta run or miss the "contractors ball" at the Alibi Lounge but if
> you
> > can do some research for me I'd appreciate it.  The enviro-terrorists
> have
> > labelled every mosquito pit larger than a puddle a "wetland preserve".
> > People could really use this land to live on.  Trust me, if you saw it
> you'd
> > ask, "what's the big deal?"  Well, it's a huge deal and we have a job
> shut
> > down right now because of it.  Common sense, anyone?
> >
> > Brad
> >
> >
> > On 2/2/07, Slim <stevenalm at comcast.net> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>> Everyone is welcome to come to the Gulf and volunteer.  They could use
> >> the
> >>> help!
> >>
> >> Manpower.  That's the solution.  Instead of a surge of troops to Iraq,
> how
> >> about a surge of carpenters to the Gulf?
> >>
> >> Slim
> >>
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> >>
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