New Orleans Public Bats Last
If you haven’t read this issue of Time, either on-line or in print, you should. In particular, the on-line Special Report is a veritable cesspool of what’s wrong with all too many building projects in the United States. It’s a litany of how
- Money
- Political connections
- Influence
have more influence over construction than the public good. Rick Stengal, Times managing editor put it this way in the print edition:
Two years after Katrina drowned new Orleans, I’m persuaded that what happened to the Big Easy was less an act of nature than a man-made disaster. Katrina was not the Big One that the city had long feared; it was a Category 3 storm that mostly missed the city. But through a mixture of shoddy engineering, poor planning and selfish politics, a survivable hurricane was turned into an epic disaster.
It is a sad but true irony that everything from the building codes, to the regulations governing contractors, engineers, architects and building departments are awash with politics. Which means they are also awash with lobbyists from every corner of the building industry: Product manufacturers, home building associations, and trade organizations.
The result is a tangled mess of interests, both public and private, that are more interested in their own survival than in helping the public. In fact, as the aftermath of Katrina is proving, the public usually ends up batting last.
One would think that, given the scope of the devastation in Louisiana, that the State Legislature would have ordered the Louisiana State License Board to create some sort of “guest contractor” program to encourage out of state contractors from all across America — especially small contractors who focus on home building — to come to New Orleans and help rebuild the city.
As a friend of mine who lived in the infamous (and now destroyed) 9th Ward put it: “There’s all the work you could want down here.” Imagine, thousands of small “mom and pop” construction firms pouring into the state, all eager to help Louisiana citizens just like themselves rebuild their homes. What a beautiful image of Americans helping Americans.
But did Louisiana do that? Did they make it possible for Americans to help Americans?
No.
In an act of pure turf protection, no doubt encouraged by the medium and large sized construction firms that make up the construction lobby, the Louisiana License Board either erected or maintained the barriers that prevent out of state contractors from entering Louisiana to help rebuild the city. And it’s all “for your own good”, of course! (There might be a few bad apples in the barrel of good samaritans. Like there aren’t bad contractors in New Orleans already!)
The result? The public, its New Orleans homes still in a rubble, bats last.
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