Take the Money and Run!

Today's proposal by the New Orleans mayor and the Bring Back New Orleans Commision sounds almost like an ultimatum for many NOLA residents affected by Hurricane Katrina and her aftermath.

Here are the main points:
1. Residents have two months to prove they will rebuild
2. If a resident cannot prove they can rebuild the property will be reclaimed as open space.
3. If the government takes back the property, property owners will be compensated 100% of the pre-hurricane value of the entire property.
4. AND, neighborhoods must have at least half of their residents commit to rebuild
5. Neighborhoods that have rebuild commitments from less than half of the residents will be deemed unviable. See point 3.

Hmmm... Nifty deal to me. If I lived there, hey, there's a line to draw, and I think Katrina made it very clear that the that line is now non-existent. Take the money and run, while you still have your sanity.

This situation kind of reminds me of my old school being torn down. There's a time when you just have to let it go, and move on, if only to avoid the bricks that might come down on you (mentally and/or physically).

There's some other points to ponder with this:
1. The federal buyback plan and reclaimation costs would total approximately $18 billion.
2. The plan is dependent on FEMA issuing new maps outlining the most flood-prone areas (hmmm... FEMA is kind of like danger-prone Dafney... wonder how they will flub up this one...), which would determine who gets flood insurance.
3. Improved flood and storm water protection (hopefully they will take cues from Venice, the Netherlands, and Japan, but if FEMA is involved, they'll probably do it their way).
4. Install a high-speed light rail system (if they are thinking right, it will be elevated to withstand hurricanes and high force floods, will have a direct link real land, and be an integral part of future NOLA emergency escape plans).
5. Create an efficient (and effective?) single board for the levy system.
6. And close the Mississippi-Gulf Outlet (Hey, where's everyone going to find cheap kitchen ware? Oh, ooooh, they're closing the waterway bypass that allows boats to cut around NOLA. That'll put a damper on cruising around the NOLA delta with those pimped up boats.)