Friday, October 7, 2005

In her Oct. 1 op-ed piece, "Why Louisiana Matters," Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) made a case for rebuilding the commercial infrastructure that has been destroyed in Louisiana and for ensuring that enough workers are willing and able to live near to it.

This will cost taxpayers tens

of billions of dollars plus the cost

of restoring the cultural uniqueness of New Orleans -- if the city is to

be the tourist attraction that it

was. That decision, however, should be tempered by the fact that the "Big Easy" facade of the city rested on hidden pillars of poverty and neglect of thousands of its inhabitants.

In addition, the senator not only seeks billions for reconstruction but has tossed in the notion that funds should be provided for health insurance for a million Louisiana residents whose employers are either gone or dropping their coverage.

Aren't 44 million Americans elsewhere also without coverage for health care? That $250 billion that the Louisiana congressional delegation has asked taxpayers to contribute toward rebuilding the state would buy a lot of life-saving treatments for all our uninsured.

EUGENE HAWKINS

Princess Anne, Md.