Wonder what condition those trailers are in after they move out. Probably filthy, stink to high heaven, vandalized and infested with roaches. Whats that cleaning and renovation bill gonna cost the taxpayers? Best just burn them.

4 years of free home, food, and lord knows what else, and she hasn’t even come up with a plan, much less began implementing it? I see she managed to get a cell phone and LCD TV (Odds on it being hooked to cable/Sat?), and she’s obviously getting plenty to eat, yet she couldn’t be bothered to put her own money and “construction worker,” “longtime boyfriend,” (like he’s going to start sleeping in the bed he drug in instead of hers, tell me another one),” to work clearing the debris from the salvageable, or do anything to make their (his) house livable until their (or more likely our) money falls from the sky. It looks like they just left it closed up to rot, the whole thing probably has to be torn down and rebuilt by now. Neither she nor he bothered to insure the house or property properly though it’s in a flood zone, but they have no problem making the rest of us pay for it. Yea, my heart bleeds for them, they might actually have to get off their butts and do something for themselves. I won’t hold my breath.

The real story in the linked article is all the missing and boondoggled money. An $869 million dollar state run program to repair 18,000 houses($48,278 per house, divided evenly), that has only repaired 1200 ($724,167 per house, divided evenly), or 6% of what it was supposed to. Then there’s the plan that cost an undisclosed “millions in federal money,” to build little “Katrina cottages,” but has built none. Where’d the money go (Did anyone check Jeffords’ freezer? I bet some found its’ way in there)? It’s probably sitting in the same accounts all that flood control/levee money that disappeared is. If it was in the accounts of people who could be tied to the GOP, you could safely bet we would all know by now. Oh, and 90% of the people still living in FEMA trailers have received some or all of their federal payout.



I wonder how many of these people Laura Tuggle (Southeast Louisiana Legal Services), is putting up, and how many units she has funded for these people? Or is all her help to them in suing her way into other people’s pockets for a nice cut?

Wrong! Kick their asses out, clean the things, and then send the trailers to the next disaster.

A response to Robin:

Q: When does empathy end?
A: Empathy did not end. People clearly identify with these people's situations and motives and know that 4 years is enough to have a plan to pull yourself up out of this self-imposed victimization.

Assertion: "I just find it depressing and discouraging to see so many Americans so willing to see other Americans basically just die in the street."
Response: This is not an either/or situation. These people had 4 years to get a job, move in with a relative, combine money with a neighbor and jointly get a house, etc.... Suggesting that our asking people to take care of themselves nearly 4 years after the hurricane is a death sentence is pathetically simplistic.

Statement: "I don't even really want to understand such anger as I find it a nonrational [sic] way to communicate with anyone."
Response: While I could point out that anger is not a communication method, I would rather focus on your somewhat obscured assertion that anger at people who have not had the self-respect to take control of their lives in 4 years is irrational. How is it rational for these people to expect me to help pay for their lives while I am trying to pay for the lives of my children? I find it difficult to forgive people who take the money I need to put food in my kids’ mouths and clothing on their backs. If you accept that you are a broken person and choose to not do something to address that, you should live with the consequences.

They can live there forever, but if they sell it, the new owner has to move it, if it burns, we will NOT replace it, you are on your own. You will pay your utilities and your insurance. Goodbye.

You all are right! I live here and I am a Katrina survivor. I lost pretty much everything in my new house in Lakeview (rarely hear about us). Came back to NOLA to rebuild my life (and by the way, pay a lot in taxes with no help from US government)only to find that the water didn't wash away all of the corruption and graft that plagues NOLA. The real issue is that all of the parasites here vote (early and often) and so we can never get good honest people in political offices. Just look at "Our Mayor" Nagin if you want a good example of what we as law abiding, tax paying citizens have to put up with. Just a shame. NOLA is a great city. It did survive just fine from Katrina. It may not survive the politicians and the parasites!

I agree with a previous poster. Just give them the damn trailers and be done with it. Those trailers have had professional looters living in them almost four years; they can't be worth hauling off the sites.

I basically think that blaming people for what they don't know is stupid on the part of the blamer. I think that calling people leeches in blanket statements reflects a general lack of empathy for people one doesn't understand. There will always be a segment of society that will need care and in my mind, a society is judged by how they care for them. I don't judge people on their bad behavior, I wonder what kind of crappy life experiences lead to that behavior. I just find it depressing and discouraging to see so many Americans so willing to see other Americans basically just die in the street. The coldness of that shocks me. I have been diagnosed with a personality disorder and major depression and I often wonder why I am the crazy one as I don't have all these violent feelings expressed here with such gusto. The recent gun show here in Durham drew over 8,000 people. Guns and a lack of empathy are a bad mix and I fear conservatives more than anyone in my life. I don't even really want to understand such anger as I find it a nonrational way to communicate with anyone. I just forgive people for not being able to wrestle the mental capacity to survive in this complicated world. We're all broken people raised by broken people and I accept the reality of that.

Hmmm... I know of three people who moved away with nothing. They moved to FL to get a job, lived out there cars and served tables(proved to boss why they lived in their car - by showing where they were from). 4 years is way too long of an excuse.. my pity is no longer with them after 2 years. It is silly how we excuse them for 4 years. I remember seeing like a local news show who showed some of these so called 'Katrina Victims' with ocean front hotel rooms - sitting down drinking beer and smoking all day long with no aspirations to make an effort to get their lives back. That news report was only 6 months ago. SILLY BS!!!!!!

"It is so discouraging to read the comments on this board from conservative people; there is an universal lack of empathy."

You say there is a lack of empathy. What do you propose? Continue same as the last four years? Or has the fact that FEMA kept supporting them without challenging further generated this situation?

What if you don't challenge your own children to learn, grow, and one day "kick them out of the next"? You know the answer: they will never leave, because they don't have to. And they will assume that this is how it is supposed to be!

Empathy is not the issue at all, but instead cowardice of FEMA and the government to do what is right instead of what makes everyone "feel good".

I for one am proud and thankful for your folks and all those like them. They will be the saving grace for that area. Bravo!

Robin, we wouldn't be so negative on these folks if it hadn't gone on for SO LONG! Really, how long do you think we should feel empathy? There is a limit. We certainly didn't feel this badly toward them from the beginning. Although I never could figure out why Nagin didn't load up those buses and get people out in the beginning. Or lacking that, myself I would have walked out five days before it hit if there was no other way. Sure, there were exceptions but if all the able bodies had gotten out of the way, the emergency people would have had a much easier job of helping those left behind. They hindered the entire operation.

Don't leave just on this one issue. Your views are welcome.

Have you ever been to New Orleans or read the local newspaper? This is how these leeches act 24/7, 365, before Katrina and after. They feel entitled to everything and it's the gov't job to take care of them. They've paid for nothing: no taxes, very low housing costs (thanks section 8), very little utility costs, yet they still cry when they don't receive what THEY feel is acceptable. And when they don't get their way they scream racism.

As someone who was born and raised in New Orleans (the devastated Lakeview area), I too am absolutely DISGUSTED with the trailer holdouts.

I now live in Kenner, a suburb just to the west of NO, and the trailers are now prohibited with VERY few exceptions (that must be applied for, and you better have a DAMN good reason as to why you need the trailer).

It also makes me sick that the news media is focusing upon these leeches and that folks like my parents (who lived in Lakeview and lost everything) are ignored because they had insurance and busted their butts to raise themselves up. They haven't had it easy, but they didn't apply for one drop of government handout help.

I lived in New Orleans during Katrina.

I received no gov't assistance except perhaps from a wonderful police officer in rural Mississippi who let me follow him down country roads to find gas at 11 pm when I was almost out of gas and the power was out everywhere.

I have thrived since Katrina and view it only as a bad memory now.

These people were parasites before Katrina and don't know how to be anything different. I remember quite well a situation on the news that really was telling.

A bus had taken some of the parasites to Houston, local volunteers were handing out sandwiches from a local deli. One "woman" getting off the bus (in front of the camera) began "I don't want no @#$@ing sandwich, get me some McDonalds".

The level of entitlement amongst these "people" is ridiculous. As far as I am concerned it has been almost 4 years, put them in out!

Unfortunately not. Now they're suing the manufacturer's, claiming formaldehyde poisoning. It doesn't matter that the homes (at least ours) were well under the national standards and met the requirements of the FEMA contract...

This reminds me of the digital TV transition...

People have months and months to prepare, but the government folks start hearing that people are not ready or have not even heard of such a deadline coming up on them.
Never heard of it? How is that possible.
So, the government decides to play nice and extend the transition date to give people more time. Awww...
When that deadline rolls around people will still not be ready or claim to not know anything about it.
The result will be another extension and another until it finally just doesn't matter anymore and it will fizzle out and go away.

These people were parasites before Katrina. Why is everyone surprised at this behavior?