House Speaker Dennis Hastert had the sense to question spending federal dollars to rebuild New Orleans. Good for him! Congress should debate this.
New Orleans is inherently defective. The land naturally sinks, but the Mississippi used counter this by regularly flooding and depositing silt. Now that the Mississippi is totally leveed off, the silt just flows into the gulf. New Orleans sinks without stopping.
The prospect of shutting down New Orleans is fearsome. Shutting it down could decimate Louisiana’s tax base. But the question must be asked.
American taxpayers deserve a fair hearing on this issue.
Predictably, Louisiana’s marginally competent governor demanded an apology.