Why do we get bubkis?

California estimated that the rebuilding of the on ramp to San Francisco's Bay Bridge would take 50 days. C.C. Myers Inc. did it in just 17 days. The contract built in incentives to hasten completion and California worked to assure both quality and reduced bureaucracy. As an article in the New York Times explains: "Within 24 hours of the devastating crash and fire, the federal government approved some emergency reconstruction money; not long after, the state settled on a design plan."

So why hasn't New Orleans seen anything like this? Why does school reconstruction lag so terribly? Why did garbage fill the streets for more than a year? Why did flood protection work take so long and still not work?! Why are there still street lights on the fritz? Why does our sewer system continue to spill water into the ground?

The world watched as New Orleanians were treated like trash after the levees broke. Americans were ashamed. Well, guess what? You should still be ashamed. New Orleans certainly shares some of the blame, but unimaginative and overly-bureaucratic state and federal government agencies and officials have turned a blind eye to the misery caused by the worst catastrophe in American history. A disaster caused by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Out of sight, out of mind.