Mississippi rarely if ever gets credit in the national news media for doing anything right, but Hurricane Katrina has been the exception - until recently when The New York Times editorial page manufactured data to fit their agenda.
While Hurricane Katrina was in many ways our state's darkest hour, the recovery continues to be one of our finest.
Being proper Southerners we are sensitive about our image and don't take too kindly to elitists like those who populate the Times looking down their long noses and scoffing just because they presume we all use outhouses and run barefoot.
Sure, there have been problems with Katrina recovery, as there is with any Grade A government-run program. We should work to fix those problems. But, by and large, needs have been met and there is a plan for the future, thanks to the strong will and resilient spirit of the people of the Gulf Coast and the vision and determination of Gov. Haley R. Barbour, the Mississippi Legislature and other leaders, Democrat, Republican, red and yellow, black and white.
A Sept. 21 editorial entitled "Mississippi Failure" criticized the Barbour administration's use of $5.5 billion in federal disaster relief, especially $600 million they claim was diverted to a Port of Gulfport expansion from low-to-moderate-income housing.
The truth is that the authorizing language for disaster monies both anticipated and made provision for waivers.
Confusion over part of the federal monies being spent on efforts other than "strictly housing" can be cleared up by pointing out to New Yorkers that the same mechanism and the same oversight team at HUD is the same government vehicle for providing monies to lower Manhattan since the awful 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Mississippi is spending nearly 3/4 of its disaster monies on housing and housing-related activities.
Interestingly, data show the state already has more public housing rebuilt than existed prior to Katrina. And, the trajectory shows that in about a year and a half Mississippi will complete the public housing program with about 1,000 more units than existed prior to the storm.
The bottom line: There will be more units of public housing on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2011 than existed pre-Katrina, as well as several-fold more permanent vouchers for needy families.
The claims by The New York Times are unfounded and the editors owe Mississippians an apology, but we don't expect one because, more than anything, the Times' rant and the others like columnist Bill Minor's that have followed are about politics and casting doubt on our Republican governor who so ably led in that time of crisis that the ultra-liberals simply can't stand it.
The real problem on the Coast is affordable housing because so much inexpensive real estate was wiped off the face of the earth. Cheap housing existed because for generations families owned rental properties that now are no more.
The cost of rebuilding that housing is prohibitive. So, the challenge becomes affordable housing where it's terribly expensive for anyone to build.
The port expansion the liberals so oppose is expected to bring 600 jobs, presumably to some of those in HUD housing who need work.
The expansion will even hopefully impact this region of the state since Gulfport stands to become a major gateway for large ship containers that will soon be able to make their way through an enlarged Panama Canal and avoiding massive congestion on the West Coast.
The Times got it wrong. Mississippi has its failures, to be sure, but Katrina recovery isn't one of them.
