Well, no wonder Haley thinks it's all wine and roses:
The $15 billion or more in federal aid the former Republican national chairman attracted has reopened casinos and helped residents move to new or repaired homes.
Among the beneficiaries are Barbour's own family and friends, who have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from hurricane-related business. A nephew, one of two who are lobbyists, saw his fees more than double in the year after his uncle appointed him to a special reconstruction panel. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in June raided a company owned by the wife of a third nephew, which maintained federal emergency- management trailers.
Meanwhile, the governor's own former lobbying firm, which he says is still making payments to him, has represented at least four clients with business linked to the recovery.
But for those who continue to languish in the absence of family connections--or a firm commitment from the government to either compensate losses, or, AT THE VERY LEAST, to compel insurance companies to act in good faith--well, I guess Barbour, et al, must be thinking "let 'em eat cake:"
Many Gulf Coast residents still feel the wallop of Hurricane Katrina nearly two years later.
Mental illness is double the pre-storm levels, rising numbers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and there is a surge in adults who say they're thinking of suicide.
A government survey released Wednesday to USA TODAY shows no improvement in mental health from a year ago.
About 14% have symptoms of severe mental illness. An additional 20% have mild to moderate mental illness, says Ronald Kessler of Harvard Medical School, who led the study.
The big surprise: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which typically goes away in a year for most disaster survivors, has increased: 21% have the symptoms vs. 16% in 2006. Common symptoms include the inability to stop thinking about the hurricane, nightmares and emotional numbness.
Maybe everyone should change their name to Haley Barbour...or Trent Lott.
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