Congress continues to debate just how much it is willing to spend to build levees and restore the wetlands. In the meantime people, businesses and insurance companies don't know which way to jump.

$6.7 billion has been approved for levees, $115 million for wetlands. Some is being spent to restore the pre-K levels of security (insecurity?) by 2007. Some is being spent to protect the city from a 100 year storm (where we should have been preK. Completion of the 100 year protection is slated for 2010.

A few millions are being spent to study just how much better protection will cost. Any solution has to include wetland and barrier island restoration as well as levee's, gates, walls and pumps.

In March 2006  the Corps, under pressure from the NSF and the ASCE announced that it would take another $9.5 billion to build the flood control structures needed to make the four parish New Orleans southshore area safe. Although this is a step towards discovering the "truth on the ground," it still omits the costs for category 5 protection and for coastal restoration. The $6.7 billion comes from this estimate minus 2.8 billion estimated to protect southern Plaquemines parish.

Louisiana's Pelican Progam initiative suggests the total pricetag for levees, flood control, coastal restoration and navigation projects is $40 billion.

If we can't protect the city from even some pretty remote but catastrophic possibilities, why should we encourage people to return or stay?