small rant

[rurallib]

I was just thinking this morning. We are now at a point where thinking beyond the immediate crisis can slowly begin. There will be one HUGE clean up and rebuilding. I believe this is exactly the kind of situation that Naomi Klein talked about in Shock Doctrine. Where there is a disaster, there is money to be skimmed. No doubt Bushco will do another masterful job of trying to privatize the recovery, doing little but sending out press releases of how well things are going.
I just fear this will turn into another NOLA.

[Debi]

1. We will have to rely on our elected officials and ourselves to see that it doesn't happen

Harkin, Braley, Loebsack and even Boswell will need to be constantly updated on our situations and our recovery efforts. (Of course our local officials too).

[uppityperson]

2. Blackwater.

best of luck to you all.

[CoffeeCat]

3. What happens to all of these businesses???

I'm wondering what happens to all of the small businesses in downtown CR and in the affected areas?

Undoubtedly, the vast majority of these businesses won't have flood insurance.

So, does the government help them to rebuild their businesses? Do these business owners get grants to rebuild? Loans
might not help some business owners.

What happens to these small businesses...restaurants, bars, coffee shops, etc?

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Ok here are some things that you need to watch for

reaching for that hat as a disaster tech for the Mexican Red Cross.. but it works the same anywhere... and where they can try to privatize things

1.- Security... seems obvious that you will need NG and Local police to keep looters away... This can and usually is a small problem.... enter blackwater. So you need to make sure the local sheriff does not deputize these guys... and it is tempting. The locals are exhausted by now. So you may want to offer your selfs as local patrol deputies.

2.- When you go back you will need to make sure houses, and other structures are salveagable and that debris is removed. DEMAND this stays with LOCAL contractors... and not the usual cronies. If it stays with local contractors this helps to restart the economy. On a personal point, make sure that your house is throughly dried due to mildew which will be a problem anywhere from two weeks to a year. Oh and your local health department should instruct you on how to use clorox to help you in the process... it is not for keeping your whites whites anymore.

3.- Houses that are destroyed or condemned will need replacing. Here is where in an ideal world FEMA gets involved. Make sure that the check can pay for your local contractors. See above.

Oh and a note on locals... just because they are your local neighbors does not necessarily mean they will not try to take advantage... So do watch out for fraud. And demand to see licenses.

4.- Water... assume your water is bad for months to come. So boil it every day for at least ten minutes.

Mostly you need to keep as much of the effort as you can LOCAL... and with LOCAL materials. This will help to jumpstart the economy. Oh and watch out for the many who will try to buy you out of condemned properties

Oh and to the local businesses, if they get enough help rebuilding they may be able to restart and go on

One thing the International Red Cross loves to do after these kinds of disasters is to bring in building materials and let the locals rebuild... the closest to this in the US (no, I don't expect ICRC disaster teams on the ground) is Habitat for Humanity. Oh and this also means that getting rebuilding permits and all that is where some of this will be tried. So demand an eye be kept on all your local officials, who will be offered quite a bit of beanies for helping along in the privatization effort

Hope this helps....

What does she say? Oh yes, when you know what to expect, it is harder to do this. So do share with neighbors, your best hope is to fight it as a group.