Grading the Rebuilding Process - January Report

Over at TomPaine.com, Kevin Whelan and Toni McElroy have a great op-ed about the President's disappointing lack of commitment to rebuilding New Orleans - vividly symbolized by his failure to mention New Orleans or Katrina even once in his State of the Union Address - and what the state of the Gulf says about our nation.  Some good excerpts:

When Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, it exposed
America’s dirty little secret—that poverty not only still exists, but
is an intergenerational way of life for many of the country’s
residents. It would have been inconceivable that tens of thousands
could be left behind to fend for themselves in the storm, except it
played out on live television. For a time, public discussion again
focused on the fact that the poverty of New Orleans, far from being an
isolated situation, exemplifies a national problem.

The reasons such poverty still exists in a rich country aren’t
really hard to find. Years of under-funded public services, low wages
(10 years and counting without an increase in the federal minimum
wage), unaffordable housing, troubled public schools and suppression of
union-organizing have contributed to the decline in earning power of
working families and the rise in poverty.

The article goes on to note the many challenges facing the residents of New Orleans in rebuilding their lives.  These barriers to opportunity that many New Orleans residents - those still displaced and those who have returned - are starkly illustrated in the new Rebuilding Report Card put out by the Center for Social Inclusion.  Readers may remember that last month we posted the first of what will be monthly reports cards grading the rebuilding process.  The new report is out (pdf), and unfortunately (though not unexpectedly) the situation has not improved:

• 17 months after Katrina, the Lower 9th Ward is the only planning district without full electric and gas service .
• The Recovery School District turned away 300 students due to a lack of facilities
• After promising 500 grants a day in January, the Road Home Program has averaged fewer than three approvals per day.