Louisiana's swamped economy (CSM)

NEW ORLEANS - In 10 weeks, hurricane Katrina has swept Louisiana toward an economic recession - the fastest downturn to hit a state in modern times.

• The state's unemployment rate has spiked to 11.5 percent, the highest level for any state since the mid-1980s. Personal income is expected to drop 10 percent this quarter and continue falling next year.

• The Legislature began a 17-day special session Tuesday to eliminate $1.5 billion from the state budget. The options: laying off tens of thousands of employees and cutting expenses for everything from schools to wildlife enforcement.

• Pillars of the local economy are struggling. Oil and gas production on state land is still down more than 20 percent. Tourism remains a shadow of its former self, particularly with airline arrivals and departures less than 25 percent of normal levels.

In all, the state estimates that 41 percent of businesses in the state have been adversely affected by the storms.

Fixing the Louisiana economy presents policymakers - on both the federal and state level - with scores of vexing problems ranging from population loss to future land-use issues. Time is of the essence: Lawyers, doctors and working-class people who fled the state are now deciding whether to return to their beloved Cajun country or find jobs elsewhere. At stake is the future of an important economic engine for the nation.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/abrokex

just abt every business i use or walk past or drive past has a huge "now hiring" sign, even the fast food places are offering $8.75 an hour, before katrina they paid around $5.40 an hour

if your house is not too damaged, you prob. have a friend or family member staying w. you or you have a trailer or an RV to house someone etc.

i agree there will be a problem retaining the doctors & the academics, they need to move NOW to guarantee that there will be cat 5 levees to protect orleans, they also need to provide CURRENT flood maps so ppl know NOW whether to rebuild or to elevate their homes, lots of ppl in lakeview & gentilly can't get anything in motion because they don't know how high they will be required to build

st. bernard & lower 9th ward will not be safe for some time, if ever, for st. bernard there is little point in rebuilding anything if the MR-GO issue is not resolved, these ppl need to be compensated generously so that they can build a future in their new locations

water really begins to heat up after the north polar cap gets smaller and the heat engine of cold iceberg melt stops flowing to the equator the oceans will get really HOT and i can see the possibility of Force 7 hurricanes.. literally a Tornado that covers 10's of thousands of square miles.. one after the other..and season will be greatly longer.