Thread: Katrina Exposed Poverty, Problems And Folly Of Importing....

September 12, 2005

[b]Katrina Exposed Poverty, Problemsâ€â€

One of the things that I find interesting with the aftermath of Katrina impacts CAFTA. One of the areas of conflict has been sugar imports and domestic production.

The areas in the US whch produce sugar from cane are Florida, Hawaii and Louisiana. The CAFTA countries have been allowed to export more sugar due to the destruction from Katrina.

The impact of Katrina will have a much larger long term impact. There is no dobt that New Orleans business will come back and bring attendant employment.
A lot of the population in New Orleans was unemployed, employed only part time or in jobs less than skill level under employed. A lot of the housing area was beneath sea level and is unlkely to be fully restored due to rebuilding cost. There will be an increase in commuting.

There are now 200,000 former residents of New Orleans now in Baton Rouge. If you take a look at a map of the state of Louisiana you will see Baton Rouge and New Orleans 75 miles apart. At a 55 miles an hour speed limit Baton Rouge is an hour and a half away from New Orleans more like two with traffic. This makes it a bit far for a daily commute. The area in between is St. John the Baptist Parish a sugar production area.

There is a higher price per acre for lands that are used in residential real estate than in sugar cane production. A result of the aftermath of Katrina is likely to be lower middle class subdivisions being built in the current sugar district.

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The money that companies make selling services to the illegal immigrants is the same money they could make from products and services sold to the poor Americans they have displaced.
With fewer candidates for jobs fewer Americans would be left by the wayside.