How to Make Money Off of New Orleans

The US Government announced that every displaced family was going to get $2,000. Well OK I suppose they’ve got that coming to them for pain and suffering, and should pay for food for the next 6 months while they’re out of work. But that’s ‘families’, not people. You figure New Orleans and surrounding area had 500,000 to a million people affected, which works out to 250,000 families, maybe less. So you do the math, that adds up to 500 million dollars, total. That’s no where near close to 65 billion dollars.

No, I figure the people who are going to make the real dough here are the construction companies who will rebuild everything. And the mafia runs the construction unions and companies, so they’ll be getting their take; a multi-billion dollar windfall.

I’m not sure who else is going to make a lot of money, but they’ll be plenty, and I want in.

And I’m not talking about the yahoos who will report that a ficticious member of their family disappeared and try to cash in on the gov’t insurance; there’ll be plenty of that too but no I’m talking about figuring out how to play the game of the legitimate organizations and people who will become rich off of this.

Musicians and the Mafia

The musicians are going to make money, with their benefit concerts that will get them out into the public eye and help them sell their latest album. Totally legitimate and endearing; I have no qualms with them getting their share of the loot.

So that makes the musicians and the mafia. Who else?

Me. That’s who. I’m tired of sitting around watching these disasters, even when they occur in my backyard. Sending in some money or expecting my tax dollars to be spent well and then not getting anything back myself.

Maybe this article should have been titled, “100 ways to make money off the New Orleans disaster”.  You can just post your ideas via the feedback forum. I want first pick of the best idea.

Caterpillar Anyone?

A week after Sept 11^th, one of the Caterpillar cranes being used at the WTC site went missing – they found it a couple of days later, in the equipment lot of Richmond Plumbing on Staten Island. Richmond Plumbing said they had no idea how it got into their parking lot. It just appeared there. Richmond Plumbing has been in the paper numerous times with reputed mob links.

Get the Gift of Giving

A friend of mine gave money to the Red Cross in the days following Sept 11^th. A few weeks later he was laid off from his job. He worked up on Houston Street, and Sept 11^th was the straw that broke his company’s back. So he kind of became a victim of Sept 11^th even though all he had to do was breath the smoke that day. Spent 9 months unemployed. Even then could only find a job not nearly as good; still hasn’t quite recovered actually, as he’s had one consulting job after another since then.

But the odd thing was that a year or so later, the Red Cross, after all kinds of shenanigans where they gave the money to chapters all over the country, were making amends by giving the rest of the money out to people below Canal Street – American Express and Goldman Sachs and all the Wall Street firms were getting all kinds of money.

So in essence, my friend gave money to the Red Cross, and that money was handed over to large billion dollar corporations, and my friend, who became an actual victim to some degree, got diddly squat. Couldn’t even get a job at one of those companies. (Not to mention the CEO of the Red Cross gets 450K a year).

Follow Up -- September 9, 2005

In today’s NY Metro, the lead story is that Sept 11 recovery funds went to many who didn’t need them, an Associated Press story. “And while some at NY’s Ground Zero couldn’t get assistance they desperately sought, companies far removed from the devastation – a South Dakota country radio station, a Virgin Islands perfume shop, a Utah dog boutique, and more than 100 Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway sandwich shops – had no problem winning the government-guaranteed loans.” .. “Of the 19,000 loans approved by the two (government) programs, fewer than 11 percent went to companies in NYC and Washington DC .”

That’s what I’m talking about.  I’m going to build a perfume shop.

Today’s NY Times headline:

Cost of Recovery Surges, as Do Bids to Join in Effort

 “…budget experts now assume that federal costs will shoot past $100 billion.”

God Damn it. It’s like an Oklahoma land rush !

Where’s my horse and buggy?

-- LouV