Posted on 02/05/2006 10:38:58 AM PST by CobaltBlue
As a precedent, I think that Gerald Ford's refusal to bailout New York City in the early '70s had a very salutary effect there. Suddenly, they realized that Uncle Sugar wasn't going to just shovel money down a bottomless pit. I never expect the 'Big Easy' to become embodied purity, but please make some effort to clean house before you require us to buy new furniture and carpets.
As well as in the rest of the country and here on Freerepublic.
Actually no it's not. Just this week Florida's senators have proposed legislation to permanently ban drilling offshore for 150 miles off their coast. Why in the heck does Florida get 150 miles while Louisiana gets 3, Texas gets I believe 8. If it's okay for the rest of the coastal states to say NO to drilling then why can't we when it is a factor for the higher damage from the storm surge in both Katrina and Rita?
The debate on the causes of the erosion are irrelevant. It exists, and it's dangerous, and it will take money to fix.
Period.
And where will the money come from? Oil and gas are two of the biggest industries in Louisiana. Tourism used to be, but that's pretty dead right now.
Offshore oil drilling does not cause coastal erosion. The levees along the Missippi River causes the bulk of La. coastal erosion. Inshore, where the "roads" through the fresh water marshes were cleared by the oil Companies years ago has allowed salt water interusion and has aggrevated the erosion. But this is not offshore, where the rigs are many miles from the coast.
"New Orleans" doesn't spend the oil and gas revenue. Louisiana does. Louisiana is one of the poorest states in the Union.
Oil and gas is one of the richest industries in the world.
You do the math.
This means that at most, the maximum number of states who might have favored fighting the feds on this issue would have been 24 out of the 48 if you include Texas and Florida which would not have been likely on the coverage issue. 50% maximum, but more than likely, this was always a minority position for the states with offshore waters. Not good to be outnumbered when money is being divided.
Between 1953 and 2000 the amount of money stolen by the feds from the Louisiana federalized offshore waters totals 199.78 billion dollars (in 2005 dollars). The amount Louisiana received? A paultry 5.7 billion. The remaining monies, if equally divided by the other 49 states would total an average of 3.96 billion dollars each (2005 dollars). It's our coast being destroyed by these activities, our people doing the hard work of extracting the oil from our offshore waters (they were ours for the first 169 years of this nation's history)and it's our natural resources being tapped by all of you who depend on it. Yet it's the other 49 states who've reaped huge financial windfalls from our efforts. This is not a fair arrangement and hasn't been for some time now.
Up in Ohio, you call it blackmail when we've finally gotten "fed" up enough with this raw deal we've been getting from you and the other 48 states. Down here in Louisiana, we call what your state and the other 48 have done to us for the past 53 years "stealing". A criminal offense subject to fines and imprisonment.
What about Florida having their senators to draw up legislation to permanently ban the drilling off their coasts for 150 miles? What about all the other states that ban offshore drilling too? The effects to our coast from the oil and gas industry is part of the problem with the extensive damage from both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. If it is okay for other states to say no to drilling then by golly it's okay for us to do the same. After all it's for the environment for those states.
The rigs are offshore, but the crew boats go through those "roads" you were talking about.
I've been out there to see for myself -- my dad used to have a fishing camp at Port Eads.
Believe it or not I agree. Bush the profligate has done what he always does: throw money at the problem. There is a tangible solution to the mess in New Orleans right now. It is proposed by Baton Rouge Republican Rep. Richard Baker.
The Baker bill would sell treasury bonds to form the Louisiana Redevelopment Corporation. The Corp would buy up the damaged properties, then clean then up and then sell them with the original owners having right of first refusal.
If the original owners didn't want to buy them, then the land would be pooled and sold to developers at a premium. This makes too much sense no wonder Bush is against this.
Snort. In the paper's dreams.
But Louisiana also has a stick -- the power to oppose the sale of new offshore oil leases -- and Gov. Blanco made the right move by showing that she might use it.
This Governor Blanco...?
Blanco orders remodeling just after storms Office tab: $564,838
The other 49 might actually be willing to cut you all some more slack if you'd STOP electing CROOKS to your state and local offices. And send the ones you've got now PACKING.
We don't want to give you any more of our oil.
Make our day.
Excellent post.
Have fun paying $4.00 a gallon for gas.
Most of the affected areas supported Bobby Jindal. Further, we have not had an election since the storm. But thanks to myself and a couple of other folks down here, we went to court and got a mayoral election scheduled for April 22, 2006. C. Ray who is incompetent, not a crook, will be the first to go. We have to wait another year and a half to unload Blank-o but we will.
Don't get me started on Bobby Jindal :) We'll have to agree to disagree on him :)
You are wrong. This was an issue before the storms. Bobby Jindal tried to get a law passed in May allowing us to claim more of oil revenues. It passed in the house. But the esteeemed Jeff Bingaman, crook, New Mexico wouldn't let it come to a vote in the Senate.
Texas's tidelands go to the 12 mile limit because Texas wrote that into the annexation agreement when it joined the US. It is the only state that controls more than 3 miles because Texas was a sovereign nation.
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