American Dream

"The government" -- not clear whether federal, state, or city -- is considering simply taking all the property in New Orleans that belongs to people who, in the government's judgment, don't have the means to rebuild. The government would rebuild the homes and rent them out, although the rents would likely be subsidized. The property would not be taken by eminent domain but by "usufruct," meaning the government would manage the land on behalf of the former owners. Technically, the former owners would still hold title, but would not get to live in the homes or receive the rents paid on them. Maybe after five years the government would "sell" the properties back to the owners for the cost of construction or, if they couldn't pay, sell them on the market and "share the profits" with the owners.

As fark.com would say, "Nothing could go wrong here!" Let me count just of few of the ways:

• Because the government is not the real owner, it will have no incentive to make sure any work is done well
• Because the real owners get no benefit, they have no incentive either
• So the program is likely to be hijacked by building contractors who overcharge for shoddy work
• No doubt all sorts of New Urbanists and other utopians will jump in to get their pet but unmarketable projects built
• With the government building a likely surplus of housing, no other private developers will want to invest their own money in New Orleans, particularly for rental properties that would have to compete with government-subsidized rentals

Can anyone really believe that the actual owners are not going to get screwed -- especially if they are black? This is, after all, Louisiana, one of the most corrupt and, frankly, racist states in the nation.

The people who are seriously considering this proposal clearly have a child-like faith in government. Perhaps we can get the Easter bunny, Santa Claus, and tooth fairy to be a part of the program as well.