Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

Poll confirms, most evacuees do not plan to return to New Orleans

Washington Post:

Fewer than half of all New Orleans evacuees living in emergency shelters here say they will move back home while two-thirds of those who want to relocate plan to settle permanently in the Houston area, according to a survey by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.

The wide-ranging poll found these survivors of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath remain physically and emotionally battered but unbroken. They praise God and the U.S. Coast Guard for saving them, but two weeks after the storm nearly half still sought word about missing loved ones or close friends who may not have been as lucky.

Most already know they have no home left to return to. The overwhelming majority lack insurance to cover their losses. Few have bank accounts, savings accounts or credit cards that work. Still, nearly nine in 10 said they were "hopeful" about the future. And while half say they feel depressed about what lies ahead, just a third say they were afraid.

"I'm setting goals for myself and I'm ready to conquer them," said Lakisha Morris, 30, who was plucked from her roof and spent two nights outdoors on an interstate highway before boarding a bus for Houston. She said she wants to start her own business in this city, possibly day care for the children of fellow evacuees.

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Forty-three percent of these evacuees plan to return to New Orleans, the survey found. But just as many -- 44 percent -- say they will settle somewhere else, while the remainder are unsure. Many of those who are planning to return say they will be looking to buy or rent somewhere other than where they lived. Overall, only one in four say they plan to move back into their old homes, the poll found.

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According to the poll, most of those who do not plan to go back to New Orleans are already living in their new hometown. Fully two in three of the 44 percent who won't return say they plan to permanently relocate in the Houston area, the city that now is home to about 125,000 New Orleans evacuees.

I think the numbers in smaller communities in Texas will be even higher for those planning to stay in Texas. It is not clear whether the more afluent, who have been staying in hotels and motels were surveyed. This raises serious questions about the rebuilding of New Orleans and the temporary housing that is being brought into the area. Before huge expenditures are made for housing that is not wanted or needed, those in charge need to look at this poll and the ancedotal evidence that a significant portion of the evacuees will never return. If money is going to be spent on improving these peoples lives, it will have to be spent in Texas and other states where they have taken up residence.

In watching the President's speech this evening, it did not appear that he was made aware of the wishes of the evacuees. Instead the thrust of his remarks seemed to be addressed to the politicians in Louisiana who have been blaming him for all the things they failed to do. Before the money is spent, Congress and the President will have to face the reality of where the evacuees intend to be. Sending them back to the Democrat's New Orleans plantation would be as big an injustice as the Dred Scott case.