Part-Time Pundit: Hurricane Katrina: A Case for Affirmative Action

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September 10, 2005

Hurricane Katrina: A Case for Affirmative Action

Now that it seems the evacuation is more or less complete in New Orleans, talk has begun on rebuilding New Orleans. It’ll be rebuilt, hopefully with an above sea level plan, if for no other reason out of American pride. The question I ask is not whether or not to rebuild, but who should do the building.

Off the top, the highly technical aspects of fixing and operating the pumps, elevating the city, repairing the levees and the like should be done by experts. This deals more with rebuilding houses, apartments, stores, and the bulk of the actual structures. As someone who is not a fan of affirmative action, I think the work of the actual building should go to the poor minorities who were displaced.

Yes, they’ll need to be trained and yes it will slow down the process. But let’s look at the alternatives for a second. You have a hundred some odd thousand very angry, upset people who were less than impressed by the overall response to the disaster. And they are upset for good reason. These are people who were beat down and pushed down by “the man” all their lives. Many are unemployed; many are unemployable, because they lack training and education in solid skills. These are the people that are standing around in the tens of thousands at various football fields near you and they’re going to have nothing to do for months while carpetbaggers head to New Orleans to rebuild it.

Instead, I propose letting those who want to make $30-40/hr that are physically capable to go back to New Orleans to build. One, it would help them out financially obviously. Two, they would get bona fide on the job training and experience in building, something they can reuse once the building is done. Three, it would give many of them something to do instead of sitting around a football field waiting for Red Cross to bring them their next meal. Four, and most important, it will help break the cycle of poverty by getting them work and a job skill that can be used even if they never go back to New Orleans. It will help them become self-reliant.

One of the lessons that Hurricane Katrina brings, that no matter who is in power or what governmental form there is, if you rely on the government to help you, most of the time you’ll be left hanging. This is a truth that thousands of years of human history have taught. If you can provide for yourself, you’ll do fine. If you need the government, you’re screwed.

As the old saying goes... give a man to fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll sit in the boat all day drinking beer... or something like that.

Posted by John Bambenek at September 10, 2005 5:48 PM