Daily PUMA Column - Commentary by Alessandro Machi

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Why does the U.S. Government allow the Mississippi River to flood dozens of cities on a regular basis? Why won't Barack Obama do something about it?


Barack Obama promised Change, and Change is what I want, darn it!

I wanted a supposedly intelligent president emboldened by his team of rivals to change how the U.S. problem solves recurring issues such as reducing and minimizing the affect of Mississippi River flooding.

I did a little research and the Army Corp of Engineers pre-ordains how deep the Mississippi River will be dredged based on how deep the biggest ships bottoms that traverse the Mississippi extend below the surface of the Mississippi River. The biggest ships may sit 40 feet deep so the Army Corp of Engineers adds seven feet for safety, for the boats!

Isn't that special.
Is it possible the Army Corp of Engineers actually is satisfied with dredging the Mississippi River to a depth that allows shipping lanes to flow freely, but won't go the extra five or ten feet that might prevent virtually all imminent Mississippi flooding that may cause over a billion dollars in damage?
Has a cost / risk dredging versus flooding benefit analysis been done?

If the Federal government spends 40 million to a hundred million dollars a year to dredge portions of the Mississippi river, what would the benefit be if that amount was increased an extra 50 million dollars?

If this year's flood produces a billion or two billion dollars in neighborhood flooding damage, wouldn't spending 50 million extra on the front end be a wise investment if it saves one to two billion dollars on the back end?

Is it possible that the dredged Mississippi River mud might have value as potting soil or for people's gardens? What about calling the dredged up mud Mississippi Mud and selling it across the country?
What if the extra 50 million dollars used to dredge the Mississippi was used to pay returning war veterans to actually assist in the dredging of the Mississippi River?
Yes, a jobs program that creates IMMEDIATE, TANGIBLE jobs and SAVES THE COUNTRY MONEY by REDUCING FLOOD DAMAGE, while also creating a NEW PRODUCT that benefits americans all across the country!
Instead, Barack Obama, (just as George Bush before him), will photo op along the Mississippi River in the coming couple of weeks, grimacing, telling flood victims that the U.S. government is here to help them with low interest rate loans to help repair their flood damaged homes, flood damage that most likely could have been prevented in the first place.

wow.


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