I gotta hand it to Pitt. His Make-It-Right thing in NOLA, an attempt to bring architects and builders together to make appropriate, affordable housing for those flooded out in Katrina, is looking better all the time. Turns out he owns a house in the French Quarter so his interest is not coincidental.

This month's Architectural Digest has a good article with a couple of the completed houses featured.

Unfortunately, I could get no more of the article than the pics in the link above, which isn't much. AD must not be interested in giving away any of its copy for free on the web.

The article is worth checking out -- a few of the preliminary designs were a bit out there but the one they primarily feature in the article looks promising.

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Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

He's helping people rebuild in areas below sea level, with levees maintained by national tax dollars on a local problem.

Hard to argue with that but is there any stopping it? The houses are on stilts but not high enough to protect from a repeat of the flooding of a few years back, in some areas anyway.

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Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

If you don't subsidize the rebuilding then people have to pay their own way. That way the risks are their own. If we ceased federally subsidizing flood insurance then we could find out what the market cost of insurance on a building below sea level in a hurricane-prone area REALLY is. If a prospective homeowner can float the loan and get the insurance, let him build. If he risks his own money, let him build. If he spends his own money and builds it himself at his own risk, let him build.

Subsidizing rebuilding neighborhoods and subsidizing flood insurance simple ensures that taxpayers will pay for it all over again sometime in the future.

And this folks, is why we don't want government running the auto companies or medicine.

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Chad
2013 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL

lol. How many times has an auto company gotten money from the federal government? More than just the last time.
Federal money is already spent. The government will always step in to stave off wide spread disaster. Right now, we get nothing for it. If the auto companies lost some control, at least the government could have some measure of control over its (our) investment.


BTW, if the rebuilders got flood insurance, they'd be getting subsidized too, by all the people who got insurance from the same carrier. How many local Louisiana insurance companies are there?

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1984 300TD

And.....useless gesture of the year award goes to????????

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1. If the gov gives the companies my money, I want a stock certificate for the face value of my proportionate share. That way I have direct control over my investment. Not some basement-occupying coven of crones in the White House.

That the gov has given my tax dollars to private companies in the past does not mean it was a wise thing in the past nor does it excuse foolishness now nor does it excuse foolishness in the future.

2. The US government subsidizes flood insurance in flood zones. Nobody knows what private insurance rates are for individuals in flood zones. I suspect that rates would jump considerably if customers had to pay the market rate.

If rates became so high the people couldn't afford insurance then maybe they would move out of flood zones or assume the total risk of their choice of dwellings.

Tax dollars subsidizing New Orleans==Tax dollars subsidizing Chrysler & GM.......both losing propositions. Same dollars down the same rathole.

That said, I like the time I spend in New Orleans, several weeks a year. Re-distributing the riff-raff to Houston and Dallas has spiked crime in Texas. Thanks.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

I couldn't agree more!!

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Current:
2014 VW Tiguan SEL 4Motion 43,000 miles.

2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (wife's).

Past:
2006 Jetta TDI 135,970 miles. Sold Nov. '13.
1995 E-320 Special Edition. 220,200 miles. Sold Sept. '07.
1987 190-E 16 valve. 153,000 miles. Sold Feb. '06.
1980 300-D 225,000 miles. Donated to the National Kidney Foundation.
1980 240-D manual, 297,500 miles. Totaled by inattentive driver.

Not than I am for backing either the Big 3 or NO, but rebuilding the ****hole ghetto called NO below sea level and floating loans to car companies is not the same thing. Best case is the car companies come out of it, people have jobs, cars are sold and a lot of related industries/people htrive. For NO, you end up with a newer ****hole ghetto built below sea level.

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MB-less

Best case for NOLA, given the loan, is a tremendously expanding middle class, falling sea level and no more hurricanes.

About as likely as GM paying-off in the long run.

In both cases, it's a local/state issue. Not a fed issue.

B

One of the best posts ever!!!!!!!

I wouldn't rebuild in NOLA if it was my place. But then it isn't. People get pretty attached to their life-long home and NOLA does have that cultural niche thing going which makes it hard for people to let go.

I don't think Pitt and gang are getting govt. help. Could indirectly lead to more, I'll agree. OTOH, making progress in affordable, effective housing is no mean trick. They designed these with flood survivability in mind, something that wasn't done with most all the original homes of course, beyond some small point.

Available living space is shrinking while population continues to climb. Coming up housing that can work in adverse circumstances in a worthy aim, IMHO.

And Pitt's project is way more real than most of the causes the Hollywood crowd gets behind.

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Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Private industry's been running health care for some time and the results are good? I don't recall it being so hard to get regular medical care when I was growing up. Of course my parents took care of it but it all seemed a lot more simple and affordable back then.

Pharmaceuticals are THE most profitable bidness on earth and doctors are often not much better than product reps for big pharma.

Side effects may include ventricular funk, spontaneous gypsy scarf, and Steven Tyler lip.

And then add to that the fact that large companies prefer Canada and the like to us because here they have to be the rich uncle and take care of their employees' health care. And there's the phenomenon of people staying with a job they might be better off leaving but they need the health care coverage.

Private biz is treating the health care industry not unlike the way it treated housing, mortgages, etc. Some wholesale reform is needed.

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Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K