Hurricane disasters affect us all

By Don Kuehn

I have struggled with ideas for this month’s column in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. After seeing the catastrophic losses our members in the Gulf states have endured, high gasoline prices and short-term economic ripples seem like small change. At the same time, it’s hard to resist commenting on the disgraceful social implications of the way the whole crisis is being handled.

The images of destruction, human suffering and loss of life have shaken all of us.

Bad as they are, natural disasters like hurricanes are little more than a bump in the road in our $11 trillion national economy. In a perverse way, there can even be an economic premium as people rush to rebuild, replace personal belongings and revive their communities.

These catastrophes are different, however, because there may be no rebuilding for months to come. Right now it’s unclear just when the waters will be completely pumped out of New Orleans, to what extent those structures still standing can be salvaged, or whether bulldozers will bring down what high winds and floodwaters could not.

In areas of the Gulf Coast leveled by storm surges and winds, the stouthearted pledged to rebuild. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous contractors, vendors and scammers already preying on the victims and profiteering from disaster. What's more, President Bush has issued two executive orders that will contribute to this feeding frenzy: one allowing no-bid rebuilding contracts to go to friends of his administration, and the other letting federally funded employers pay less than the prevailing wage to workers who already are among the lowest paid in the country. These decisions are a national disgrace.

I have to think that there will be many thousands of citizens who will never return to the Gulf. Once their kids settle into new schools, when relief help has found them places to live and when the outpouring of support connects them to new jobs, there will be little incentive to return to the "war zone" left by the hurricanes.

A staggering number of New Orleans residents did not own the homes in which they lived. I have heard reports that as many as half were renters. What incentive do they have to rebuild someone else’s property? Why would they leave the hospitality of Houston, Shreveport or Memphis to go back to a city swamped by a toxic gumbo of human waste, spilled petroleum and contaminated water?

And their decision about whether to return will affect all of us. It would be tragic to lose the character of a great city like New Orleans (I use the Crescent City as a descriptor for all of the great little towns hit by this tragedy, many of which I worked in during my career with the AFT). To lose the diversity, the culture, the unique patois of Cajun/Creole/French and other influences, would be a sad loss for everyone.

As the children of the storms scatter, their connection to the Gulf Coast will be diluted. Sad.

On the other side of that coin, the wealthy, the gentry and the speculators will descend on New Orleans and rebuild where profits are to be made. Whether from rental property or new construction, there will be opportunities for those with the wherewithal to make a buck. It would heap tragedy upon tragedy if New Orleans gets rebuilt into a Disney-like cartoon of its former self that at once reflects and mocks the true character of the city.

With the dislocation of entire cities and towns throughout the Gulf Coast, the impact is being felt in classrooms around the nation. Schools and colleges have waived enrollment protocols and welcomed evacuees who have moved to neighboring states and fanned out nationwide. Perhaps your school now enrolls evacuees. Everyone seems to know someone touched by the storms.

The homeless and jobless will compete with millions of Americans already out of work. The Congressional Budget Office predicted that Katrina would cause job losses of 400,000 in the coming months, a reduction of GDP of as much as a full percentage point in the second half of the year, and the soaring gas prices we have all witnessed. In the near term, every household and business will feel the pinch of higher gasoline and heating fuel prices caused by damage to the energy infrastructure.

Within weeks of the storm surge, another kind of surge occurred. The Republican-led Congress started bleeding money. They acted like revelers on a Mardi Gras float: Every time someone shouted "Throw me sumptin,’ mister," they did.

Hurricane relief from the federal government started with a $10.5 billion emergency appropriation and was quickly followed by another of more than $50 billion. Many budget experts think the impact will inflate next year’s budget deficit by more than $100 billion.

In the first days after the hurricanes, Wall Street held up better than many expected. Commodity prices touched record highs, but even gasoline prices abated slightly after it was learned that damage to the oil pipelines was not as bad as feared and the first refineries started back online. Then came Rita, and the cycle started all over again.

For most of us, the hurricanes will mean a little inconvenience, some soul-searching and the decision to contribute or to volunteer to relief efforts. The initial outpouring of support, in the form of money and goods, has been as overwhelming as the storms themselves: millions and millions in cash donations, truckload after truckload of clothing and food. Private and public relief efforts will pump billions into the economy as people replace the basic necessities and prepare for the next chapters of their lives.

To be sure your contributions reach the victims of this crisis, donate directly to the AFT Disaster Relief Fund or the AFL-CIO Union Community Fund.

Through the AFT Disaster Relief Fund, our affiliates and members help provide direct assistance to our own AFT members who are victims of natural disasters. Please note that contributions to this fund are not tax deductible. Click here to make a contribution online. If you prefer to mail your contribution, send your check, payable to the AFT with "disaster relief" written in the memo portion of the check, to AFT Disaster Relief Fund, Attn: Connie Cordovilla, 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20001.

The AFL-CIO's Union Community Fund is labor's charity for working families and communities in distress. The community fund is working with labor federations in the affected states and with relief organizations to target help to our working brothers and sisters who need it most. This fund is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) public charity, and donations are tax deductible to the extent permissible by law. Click here to make a contribution.

Don't forget that legitimate charities do not solicit over the Internet. Ignore any e-mail solicitations; they're used as a ruse to access you personal information and perhaps your bank or credit card accounts.

Like almost everyone who has seen television coverage of the effects of Katrina, I was struck by the total incompetence of the federal government’s response. The lackadaisical attitude toward evacuation and relief, the disrespect shown to those who were plainly fighting for their lives, the deplorable conditions in the New Orleans convention center and Superdome, and the bodies left to decompose on the streets were more than any decent person could believe.

Commentator after commentator has observed that race was not a small factor in the way this crisis was handled. How different would it have been had the low ground been inhabited by the wealthy rather than the poor, black and infirm? If the Garden District, not the 9th Ward, had flooded to 15 or 20 feet in a stew of contamination? How different if New Orleans was Republican? Like everything this administration does—everything—politics was as much a factor as race, incompetence and indifference in the government’s response.

I am appalled. I am disgusted, and the scenes playing out every day on television sicken me. This should never happen in America.

For our friends and members in Orleans, St. Tammany, Vermilion and other low-lying parishes in Louisiana, for those in Mississippi, Alabama and Texas, and all who have been harmed by these terrible storms and their aftermath, our hearts hurt.

If you have ever been to the "Big Easy," you can’t help but fall in love with her. Here’s hoping it isn’t too long before the good times roll again. Or as they say in New Orleans: "Laissez les bons temps rouler."