[Rhodes22-list] Katrina Update

[Brad Haslett]

Slim,

Oh boy!  There was a huge surge of carpenters, brick layers, painters,
drywallers, and day laborers to the coast.  They were known as Mexicans and
they've since been run off.  One of the first things Bush did after Katrina
was suspend the Davis-Bacon Act.  The lefties in Congress and the liberals
went haywire - all  the usual suspects, Kenedy, et al,  made statements
like, "Bush is hitting workers below the belt just when they need help the
most!"  Apparently everyone was too encumbered with their BDS to do any
research on Davis-Bacon.  Davis-Bacon was enacted in 1931 to keep Southern
blacks from working on federal projects in NY and PA.  To this day it
discriminates against blacks who are less likely to belong to unionized
trades (in the interest of full disclosure I belong to a labor union, you
know that).  But what Davis-Bacon really does is add layer upon layer of
redtape and paperwork to federal projects.  Bush was right to suspend it in
the wake of Katrina and wrong to change his decision under pressure from
critics only a few weeks later.  At any rate, before Katrina the going wage
for truck drivers along the coast was $11 per hour and $8 for day labor.
The last Mexican run out of town was making $15 per hour and truck drivers
are getting $20.  I just spent the afternoon with a health insurance agent
to try and sweeten the pot to attract and keep employees.  Ahh, the
marketplace is a wonderful thing.

I've gotta run or miss the "contractors ball" at the Alibi Lounge but if you
can do some research for me I'd appreciate it.  The enviro-terrorists have
labelled every mosquito pit larger than a puddle a "wetland preserve".
People could really use this land to live on.  Trust me, if you saw it you'd
ask, "what's the big deal?"  Well, it's a huge deal and we have a job shut
down right now because of it.  Common sense, anyone?

Brad


On 2/2/07, Slim <stevenalm at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
> > Everyone is welcome to come to the Gulf and volunteer.  They could use
> the
> > help!
>
> Manpower.  That's the solution.  Instead of a surge of troops to Iraq, how
> about a surge of carpenters to the Gulf?
>
> Slim
>
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