Hurricane Katrina: A Look at the Numbers

Filed in archive Economy on September 8, 2005

Let me look at the numbers here. G'Dubya cut funding for the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, or SELA, in favor of the Iraq war. The SELA project is/was projected to cost $744 million,
with $555 million of that total coming from the federal government. The
project was supposed to last until 2009. The Iraq war has so far
mounted to more than $200 billion in two years. If it continues another 5 years it could top $1 trillion. hurricane Katrina came breezing through for a few days (counting Florida) and is expected to have a total impact of $100 billion.
Added to these costs are the number of lives lost. Iraq has and will
continue to cost lives. Katrina cost countless lives. The SELA project
may have saved lives and an entire city. Where do you suppose the money
would have been better spent? I certainly hope that when it comes to
his personal finances, Laura maintains the checkbook. I highly doubt he
could handle his personal priorities and budget any better than the
country's.

(Cross-posted here.)

We thank Creative Reporter Deborah Brown, from Debwire.com for her contribution. She is a weather enthusiast who hails from Florida by way of New York, Maryland and Maine. After originally extensively blogging the 2004 hurricane season, she regrets that she is doing it again in 2005.