Hurricane Katrina destroyed a good part of New Orleans, and other parts of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. This storm partially ruined almost all aspects of most people’s lives along the Gulf coast. I say we the people of the United States should finance the complete rebuilding of all the damaged and destroyed property in these areas to include the rebuilding of sound flood control projects. Yes, a complete bail out. Am I out of mind, maybe, but consider the following. Many economists fairly estimate about one third of our foreign aid since WW II has gone to Israel. Conservative estimates of that aid since 1947 to Israel is 100 billion. The economist Thomas Stauffer claims it’s 1.6 trillion. I will stick with the 100 billion number for the purposes of my illustration. Using reasonable average
Numbers spread over 58 years: that computes to $461 per capita USA as a gift of $22,700 per capita Israeli. Israel is not a poor country, and it is quite capable of defending itself from its enemies. In New Orleans we have at least 250,000 people who lost everything to Katrina, and another 100,000 in the surrounding states. I propose we take the 2.63 billon the US plans to give to Israel in 2006 and give it to the 350,000 Americans who lost it all to Katrina. Call it their seed money to get started again. That’s $7510 per capita Katrina victim. In the meanwhile USA should put up 75 cents of a dollar grant with the remaining 25 cents as an interest free loan of 30 years to all those who lost their property and want to rebuild. Assume they all do, with four persons per new unit, giving 87,500 new units at $150,000 unit, we got13.125 billion. USA puts up 75% of that, 9.84 billion and the new owners get 30-year interest free loans of 3.38 billion. If we could give Israel 100 bullion over 58 years, we certainly can help our own people. That computes to $41.50 per capita USA to help 350,000 Katrina victims rebuild their lives. When you say “God bless America” or hear others say it, this is what it means.