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Alex Tabbarok over at Marginal Revolutions comments on why another ‘FEMA City’ in New Orleans is a bad idea. The Bush administration and FEMA are planning to house Hurricane Katrina evacuees in some 300,000 trailers and “mobile” homes. In a similar situation, 1,500 evacuees from Hurricane Charley are still living in temporary homes and the situation has worsened over the years. I agree with Alex that this might just be another public housing failure and instead housing vouchers might be a better idea, especially Section 8 vouchers that let low-income people rent homes wherever they see fit (as long as the landlords accept vouchers, of course) in New Orleans or better still, anywhere in the United States. Fencing in displaced people in substandard conditions never works especially for low-income people who need to travel to work or rather, find jobs that they have lost during the existing calamity.
Also, it is highly unlikely that people who have fled the city might not return at all because they might have already found a better place or are in the process of doing so. There have been talks of low-income people moving to Las Vegas because of the abundant low-income jobs available there. You will not find people ditching their new-found jobs that pay the same or even more and returning to New Orleans purely for sentimental reasons. Rich people in fact, are happy that they aren’t moving back and actually are looking toward keeping them out. But little do they realize that every city needs its share of poor people
otherwise who would do the ‘menial’ tasks of bagging groceries, sweeping the streets, blowing away leaves, or waiting on tables.
by Patrix | on Tuesday, September 20th, 2005 at 3:00 am | 
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