"Strapped for cash, some in New Orleans stay and hope" WHAT?

[AZBlue]

"The thing is," he continued, "most people don't have cars to leave, don't have money for gas. Pay for a hotel for that long? I mean, you have to do whatever you have to do, and I guess I'm gonna stay and work."

"If I left, I'll probably lose my job," said Jeremiah O'Farrell, another dishwasher who is staying put. "I really don't have anywhere to go if I could leave. I could go home, but that doesn't seem like the thing to try. Too far, I guess."

I mean, look at the local weather guys, they know what they're doing, not those Weather Channel people. The local people say it's gonna move north, and that's enough for me."

Before Gonzalez goes back inside, he turns and mutters, "Too expensive, anyway."

I mean, look at the local weather guys, they know what they're doing, not those Weather Channel people. The local people say it's gonna move north, and that's enough for me."

Before Gonzalez goes back inside, he turns and mutters, "Too expensive, anyway."

A neighbor, Victoria, says she has two Rottweilers who she's not willing to leave behind.

"Now, what do you think that would look like, me and my little car sitting there in traffic with two big old Rottweilers," she said, laughing.

Money is tight for her, too.

"Guess I'm just gonna wait. I just don't know. It's all stressful."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/08/30/new.orleans/index.html


WTF? I thought we weren't going to have this happen again?! What happened to buses - I thought there were going to be free buses and hotel rooms for those who couldn't afford to get out otherwise. Did I miss something??

[opihimoimoi]

1. and....PRAY, WISH.....HOPE.....donns life preserver

[Wednesdays]

2. But...but...in order to help them, we'll have to pay out the ass

...our HARD EARNED tax dollars will be wasted on *those* people. (wink, wink)

:sarcasm::puke:

[AZBlue]

6. And don't forget, as Babs pointed out three years ago,

when they go to a shelter, it's really an improvement for them.
:sarcasm:

[Elidor]

9. I'm sure this will work out really well for them, too

Who doesn't like being made homeless?

[Nikki Stone1]

3. They're afraid of losing their jobs and can't afford a hotel

I can understand that. I don't understand staying in the path of a storm, but they're willing to take the risk to keep employed.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AZBlue]

5. And that should be taken into account.

I'd like to see a law preventing anyone from being fired for leaving because of a hurricane.

But my first reaction was: that restaurant should be closed and everyone there should be gone!

[lonestarnot]

7. WTF and you

have a dupe in your OP :P

[AZBlue]

10. Bummer! It's too late to edit!!

:crazy:

[lonestarnot]

11. So k! Double hitter!

[AZBlue]

16. Yeah! I'm just really trying to make a point in honor of the victims!

:D

[Stern21]

8. Just like health care. If you don't have the bucks, you don't deserve to live. n/t

[SoCalDem]

12. Disasters always affect the poor the most..

If you have $10 and no transportation, and no family, are you likely to want to grab a few items of clothing, some pics and head for a bus to who-knows-where?..leaving everything you have behind?

"Low information" people may not realize that storms are getting stronger these days, and that their city is not prepared to withstand the potential flooding..

and some may be too frightened/depressed to think straight enough to get a plan.

[Catherine Vincent]

13. I'm telling you, a lot of people just don't have the cash to leave.

It's probably hard to save for hard times when you don't have much. Yeah, they may have a little but it wouldn't last and they wouldn't want to be far from home with no money. When you get to certain places, they will be charitable for a while but after some time, they want to kick you out and tell you to find some other place to go.

These people know the deal.

[AZBlue]

17. I guess I'm naive. I thought the plan was to make sure they had free bussing and housing.

Bussing there and back.
Ugh.

[lynne]

14. You can't convince 100% to leave - Some refuse to go even with plenty of $$$

I have relatives near NOLA, in Lake Charles. They didn't leave for Katrina or for Rita and I'm sure they're not planning on leaving now. They have plenty of money and a mobile home they could take if they wished. No, they are natives to the area and refuse to evacuate.

Evacuation was FREE via bus for those who had no way to leave on their own and people were taken to shelters where they weren't charged. The worries over job loss are just excuses as there are very few left in NOLA to work with or for at this point. You can never convince 100% to leave no matter how severe the storm.

[AZBlue]

18. You're right - and for those who choose to stay despite having a way out, that's their choice.

I'm just concerned about those - like the ones quoted above - who do want to leave and can't, who are trapped.

[Fumesucker]

15. Riddle me this then..

When the evac is over and these people are kicked out of the shelters in a strange city with no resources whatsoever, what *exactly* are they going to do?

No car, no money, no friends, no job, don't know where they are even in any but the most general sense.

The evac cities are going to be totally flooded (heh) with people looking for work, the chances of them all getting jobs is zip.

It is possible to starve amidst plenty, frankly if I were in their shoes there's a good chance I'd stick around too.

[AZBlue]

19. I thought there was bussing away and back.

Both ways.

[Catherine Vincent]

20. There is.

But what we are saying is what if they had to remain at the shelter for two weeks ore more? Judging by what happened after Katrina, hotels and shelters kicked the people out when FEMA wouldn't pay out. I am sure the low income people of NOLA heard about what happened here in Houston how a lot of people was kicked out after a while with no where to go. They weren't allowed back to NOLA from what I understand until sometime later.

[AZBlue]

22. I'm not criticizing anyone who decides to stay.

If they have the chance to leave and opt not to, that's their decision and I just hope they are ok. I'm just concerned for those who don't have a choice.

Yes, they were treated badly last time - and that's an understatement. I'm just frustrated/confused because I thought that wasn't going to happen again. I thought they would be taken care of as long as necessary and that would be taken back when it was safe, no more being kicked out with no where to go and no resources. I guess I expected too much.

[ColbertWatcher]

21. All this means is: the GOP did not implement any long-term solutions ...

... for the Mississippi gulf coast poor.

The GOP has short-term, ready-for-prime-time, made-for-TV "solutions", but nothing that would actually solve the problem of high gas prices, high unemployment, increasing debt and every problem that bankrupts working people.

The reason why they do this is because for the GOP, it is a choice between giving money to their donors and not giving money to their donors.

[AZBlue]

23. Exactly! And let's talk about those levees too while we're at it.

Hmmmm.....?

[ColbertWatcher]

24. Levees or no levees, a city is drowning, but ...

... the feds do nothing? Even after being called for help?

There is no excuse for negligence.