Per Mike's admonition, I'll repost this to the OT list, for anyone who wants to keep talking. I'm online now, checking out some stuff I heard on the radio today, about who was doing what with money meant for levees..... I'll post that on the OT list. Mary Landrieu and Gov. Blanco may be in heap big trouble, if I heard right.... Linda Cyber News Service has an article http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200509\NAT20050907a.html in which they examine Louisiana's spending of money that was meant for levee management/flood control over the last ten years. If I'm in a situation where I'm constantly doling out money meant for purpose A (levee control), and the recipient uses it for purpose B (i.e. build a golf course), and I'm providing cash incentives to use the money for purpose A (levee control) by telling the recipient they can get MORE money for that purpose if they act prudently (i.e. raise funds to get matching funds from me - i.e. FREE MONEY), then there comes a point where I quit allocating more money for purpose A. This is actually not a hypothetical to me. As a finance person, I regularly hear people talk about "not having enough money" to invest in their company retirement plans - not even to the point where they will get matching funds for every dollar they put in from their company. So, let's see - if I save X% of my own money for my own future, my company will match that X%???? Sounds like free money to me! I'm IN! For the MAX! I even offered such a deal to my niece and two nephews, when they each started to work part-time. In concrete terms, I wanted to encourage them to start the discipline of saving early. So, I offered each of them $250 every year for their IRAs - PROVIDED that THEY saved $250 in their IRA. I went through the math for them, showing them how small savings at a young age trumped big savings needs started later. I explained that I chose $250 because that was one hour a week at minimum wage - or one pack of cigarettes a week - or one acrylic nail job every two weeks - or two beers. Their father thought this was such a good idea, that he agreed to match their second $250! So, I was willing to literally help make three young people MILLIONAIRES. Only one kid ever took me up on that. The other two liked the cigarettes, acrylic nails, and designer coffees too much. Turns out that Louisiana has had the same attitude about investing to protect their future vs. pretty parks, bike paths, new buildings and golf courses. Now, we all get to to pay AGAIN to bail Louisiana out of the mess. We have no choice, since New Orleans is not only a decadent party city, but is critical to the movement of goods through its port. Watch what we end up paying for produce, fuel, all consumer goods, because Louisiana wanted the fun stuff now, rather than do the work and enjoy the benefits long-term.....
Marshall Dudley <[email protected]> wrote:: My mother, now long deceased, told me of the rather awful things Red Cross did during WW2. Sunday, I preferred to go down to the center set up for the victims and help in whatever way I could. These people have suffered a cataclysm that may have been preventable? I keep wondering why the Corps of Engineers didn't reinforce the water structure before it came to this. Because President Bush vetoed the bill to do it from what I have heard on the news.
