Katrina: One Year Later

While President Bush calls for a return to New Orleans and southern Mississippi, one gracious hotelier has provided a place for them to stay.

In honor of those that died, and those whose lives were immeasurably altered, I'm proud to announce the opening of the Beau Rivage casino and hotel. Nothing says "I'm a survivor" quite like opening a hotel and casino. "We scoff at natural disaster." Finally, Mississippi can begin recouping their tax base and those who never settled with the insurance providers on their houses have recourse. Let it ride...

I know, I know - I'm being naive and this message marks a return toward prosperity. They spent a lot of money in the community getting it up and running and the revenue provides a tax base. Now, tourists have a place to stay and eat when they come look at the devastation, or to swim in the ocean - sorry, I haven't quite beat the cynic in me down as much as I hoped. Perhaps it's because of this report by the U.S. Census Bureau that announced today that 12.6% Americans live in poverty and that 24.9% of black Americans live below the poverty threshold. Further, Mississippi's poverty, at 21.3% is the highest in the country. Louisiana is not far behind (currently number 2 (or 49 depending on your perspective)) at 19.8%.

The positive spin here is that these rates have remained relatively unchanged since 2004 and "marked the end of four consecutive years of increases in the poverty rate (2001-2004)."