Disaster Capitalism Workshop

The Expansion of Neoliberalism through

Natural and Constructed Disasters

3D"Text <= /o:p>

<= span style=3D'mso-special-character:footnote'>[1]

The idea for creating a workshop to help people understand basic concepts of neoliberalism and disaster capitalism arose out of the work of a research group during the Spring 2006 “Reconstructing New Orleans: Class, Race, and the Ownership Society program” at The Evergreen State College. This group examined the effects of disaster capitalism on New Orleans, Iraq, and Central A= merica focusing on the privatization of housing and health care. Instead of writing a paper or givi= ng a lecture about our topic, we decided to design, produce and distribute a workshop guide enabling anyone to facilitate a popular education workshop on disaster capitalism.

The= workshop begins by addressing the fundamental questions: What is a disaster? What is= neoliberalism? Who wins and who loses after a disaster? From there, regiona= l case studies illustrate how natural and manmade disasters are used to capitalist advantage at the expense of the public sector. We hope workshop participants leav= e with a clear understanding of what disaster capitalism is and will begin to drea= m up alternatives to this process.

Thi= s workshop is a work in progress. Please= use this information however you see fit, but if you want more information about how we ran the workshop please email bolivarzine@riseup.net.

Emily Becker, Eric Buechel, Brad Bishop, Edie Sharp, = Alissa Eggert and Allen W= ebb

An Introduction

The idea f= or creating a workshop to help people understand basic concepts of neoliberali= sm and disaster capitalism arose out of the work of a research group during the Spring 2006 “Reconstructing New Orleans: Class, Race, and the Owner= ship Society program” at The Evergreen State College. This group examined the effects of disaster capitalism on New Orleans, Iraq, and Central America focusing on the privatization of ho= using and health care. Instead of w= riting a paper or giving a lecture about our topic, we decided to design, produce = and distribute a workshop guide enabling anyone to facilitate a popular educati= on workshop on disaster capitalism. = ;

3D"Text The workshop begins by addressing the fundamental questions: What is a disaster? What is neoliberalism? Who wins = and who loses after a disaster? F= rom there, regional case studies illustrate how natural and manmade disasters a= re used to capitalist advantage at the expense of the public sector. We hope workshop participants leav= e with a clear understanding of what disaster capitalism is and will begin to drea= m up alternatives to this process.

Thanks to…

The Friends of The Evergreen State College Library for awarding this project a Senior Project Grant

Our faculty, Dan Leahy and Tony Za= ragoza, for creating an academic atmosphere in which we could freely pursue this project.

Disaster Capitalism Workshop Outline &nbs= p;

Definition of Neoliberalism &n= bsp; = ;

Scenarios:

New Orleans &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp;

= Iraq &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; <= /p>

Honduras &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p;

Workshop Evaluation form &nbs= p; &= nbsp;

Related Definitions &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp;

Acronyms list &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; =

Resources = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp;

Disaster Capitalism Workshop:

The Expansion of Neoliberalism throu= gh Natural and Constructed Disasters

I Introduction – 10 minutes

&nbs= p; A Purpose, guidelines and facilitators introduction

B Activity: “Name a time = you were affected by a disaster.” &= nbsp;

II&= nbsp; “What is a disaster?”- <= /b>10 minutes

   &nbs= p;        A Activity: charting disaster

B Brainstorm: needs and dis= asters

III “What is neoliberalism?= 221; – 10 minutes<= o:p>

   &nbs= p;        A Defining neoliberalism

B Activity: Identifying win= ners and losers

IV Scenarios – 35 minutes

   &nbs= p;        A Break up group into 3 or more small groups

   &nbs= p;        B Read scenario on New Orleans, Iraq, or <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Honduras

   &nbs= p;        C Discuss questions

   &nbs= p;        D Report Back

V “What is disaster capitalism?” = – 25 minutes

&nbs= p;         A Discussion: Needs, winners, and losers

   &nbs= p;        B Alternatives

   &nbs= p;        C Conclusions

Our Working Definition of Neoliberalism:

Neoliberalism is a = theory of political economy that presupposes that human well-being can best be advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills wit= hin an institutional framework characterized by strong private property right= s, free markets, and free trade.

Small Group Scenario: NEW ORLEANS

&nbs= p;

Before th= e Storm

        &= nbsp;

Before Hurricane Katrina, <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">New Orleans was a= lready a city that was struggling against many aspects of neoli= beral policy. This struggle also in= cluded issues of race and class. These issues were made worse as private industry began to renew efforts to gentrify and privatize the public sector. New Orleans has a= lways been a divided city. Since the founding of the city, black and poor whites have been confined to poorer ar= eas like the Lower Ninth Ward and New Orleans East, while richer whites have li= ved and prospered in affluent areas like the French Quarter and the Garden District. This setting allowe= d for deliberate and often blatant racist and class-based discrimination. This discrimination affected every aspect of New Orleans.

   &nbs= p;           A lack of government involve= ment has allowed for private industry to dominate the local economy.   Public utilities like Charity Hospital and public schools were historically underfunded as legislation was passed in order to allow for the construction of private hospitals and charter schools. Public services are being attacked= in a city where 70% of its inhabitants are poor or lower middle class.

   &nbs= p;        The so called “white flight” of the 1970s and 1980s allowed for rich whites to move out of innercity areas and into = richer suburban areas. This moved mu= ch of the cities economy and political power away from poorer innercity communities. At the same time, public housing has been in decline, decreasing from 13,694 units of public housing in 1996 to 7,381 units in August 2005.

The Storm

Hurricane Katrina was the s= ingle most devastating disaster in United States history. This category 5 storm resulted in = the deaths of over 1500 people and 75 billion dollars worth of damage. One and a half million people were evacuated from Louisiana and 80% of New Orleans was flooded. Residents are having= a difficult time returning given that jobs and public services have been drastically diminished. On September 8, 2005, President W. Bush suspended the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, which mandates minimum wage levels, in areas affected by the hurricane. Seven months after Katrina, only 5= 1% of public transportation is operable. Nine months later, Orleans Parish offers only 21% of their public schools and St. Bernard Parish has only 7% available to the community. The slow response by the governmen= t to provide provisions for its community has created the perfect breeding ground for neoliberal policies.

The Reconstruction

<= /o:p>

Healthcare

        &= nbsp;   Charity Hospital, the primary health provi= der for low income families, was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. While the staff currently works ou= t of tents, residents are forced to use private facilities in the immediate area= or travel as far as 75 miles away to receive public health care. Federal and emergency funding are inadequate in compensating for the influx of uninsured patients and making necessary structural repairs. The number of uninsured residents has jumped to 1.2 million state-wide, yet the federal government denied extending emergency Medicaid coverage to affected citizens, a strategy used in = New York after 9/11. Louisiana had a higher than average ra= te for chronic disease and residents are being denied prescriptions from the few remaining pharmacies.

Louisiana State University = (LSU), the administrator of public health in Louisiana, has abandoned efforts to repair Charity Hospital and is combining federal funding with the Veterans Hospital to build a new hospital with the goal of attracting more privately insured patients for a ‘mixed-patient base’. Meanwhile, a majority of displaced residents who were receiving Medicaid and are having trouble accessing bene= fits without applying for residency in their temporary home. Plans have not addressed what peop= le without private health insurance will do as the city restructures their hea= lth care system.

Housing

Housing is scarce in the ha= rdest hit areas and thus housing rates in other areas have gone up. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Authority) pays to put people up in hotels and plans to ship thousands of trailers into the city to be used for temporary housing. FEMA puts up condemnation notices = on homes saying that if the residents don't reply the house will be taken over= by the city. In the Lower Ninth = Ward the New Orleans Police Department put up barriers while the National Guard patrolled the neighborhood. O= utside the barrier a curfew was in place for four months and residents found in th= eir homes were threatened with arrested. After six months FEMA stopped paying for the hotel rooms evacuees we= re staying in and the FEMA trailers were restricted in some of the poorer neighborhoods because the lots are too small or because they are in “flood plains.” Rebuilding dollars go quickest to the financial sector of the city, while eight months later electricity is still not restored in many poorer neighborhoods because the privately operated energy company, Entergy, rebui= lds first where they can make the most money.

Schools

The Orleans Parish School B= oard lost authority to New York based corporation Averez and Marsal. This private corporation implements a plan that creates 20 charter schools, and the publicly elected board now only oversees four schools.

Other Information:

<= /li>
Even though victims of the 9/= 11 attacks received free emergency healthcare.

&nbs= p;

Discussion Questions:

<= /o:p>

Who do you b= elieve is benefiting from the disaster?

<= /o:p>

Who are the = winners and who are the losers?

What are their priorities?

<= /o:p>

How has the Hurricane helped the winners to win?

<= /o:p>

How has the Hurricane helped the losers to lose?

<= /o:p>

Where are reconstruction funds going if the public sector is not being rebuilt?<= /o:p>

<= /o:p>

Who do you b= elieve needs the most aid?

<= /o:p>

Who took the= brunt of the damage from the Hurricane?

<= /o:p>

Who should r= ebuild New Orleans?=

Small G= roup Scenario: IRAQ

Introduction

The people of Iraq ha= ve met with unthinkable horrors and challenges over the course of the past two and= a half decades. From the first Gulf War to the current U.S. led war in Iraq, massive shifts have occurred of dramatic and devastating proportions within this country. The majority of these shifts have continued and furthered a process of destabilization of life, and the accelerated disenfranchisement = of people and their most basic human rights.

1991-2003

The U.S. led-war against Iraq following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, and the subsequent imposition of United Nations economic sanctions from 1990-2003, decimated the constituents of all the socio-econo= mic classes of Iraqi society as well as the country's infrastructure. Prior to = the Gulf War, Iraq enjoyed a relatively advanced level of social welfare and services. For example, Iraq had one of the most effective healthcare systems in the Arab world, providi= ng service to 97% of urban residents and 79% of rural residents. With the Gulf= War seriously compromising the effectiveness of healthcare facilities while simultaneously amplifying the demand for health services, Iraq wa= s facing a health crisis. The subsequent U.N. sanctions and the economic collapse of= the country not only stimulated the collapse of the health system, but also the infrastructure of the country as a whole.

The sanctions affected all aspects of Iraqi society: food prices increased some 1500-2000% between 1991-1992, agricultural output decreased by 70-75%. The sanctions were far-reaching and critically threate= ned Iraqi citizen’s ability to survive. Infant mortality rates skyrockete= d up from their pre-1990 levels, and a UNICEF study conducted in 1998 estimated 90,000 children died annually as a result of the sanctions. Further, the U.= N. Security Council estimated in 1999 that only 41% of the population had acce= ss to clean water, amplifying the persistence of communicable diseases. Water = and electricity facilities could not be maintained or repaired due to sanctions= , as the needed replacement parts could not be imported.

The Iraq War and Reconstruction

The sanctions serv= ed to tenderize Iraq and make the country all that more unlikely to bounce back from a bombing campaign. While the = U.S. has used missiles to bomb select targets on a consistent basis since 1999, = they launched a full-scale attack on March 21st 2003. On May 1st 2003 President = Bush declared the country of Iraq liberated while the country was still bleeding from the bludgeoning it was inflicted with. Shortly thereafter corporations began to bid on reconstruct= ion plans for Iraq’s infrastructure. The corporations included big names such as Bechtel and Halliburton. Many of the things that were once controlled by the government= of Iraq, a= nd provided for the people, are now privatized by these large corporations.

Before the 1991 sanctions, ninety percent of the people in = Iraq had access to abundant drinking water. After the Iraq war was declared complete, water would be unavailable for days on end. Citi= zens would resort to drinking from the Tigris River in order to survive. While Iraq<= /st1:place> had many laws that were set up to protect the local economy, such as tariffs and taxes on foreign investment and trade, the country’s borders were opened economically.

Paul Bremer, the a= dministrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority and representative of U.S. interests created various orders to be followed by Iraqi citizens under U.S. authority. These edicts provide a stark example of the long-term changes made to Iraqi life under t= he U.S. occupation. The orders he prescribed, which had no popular representation, sought to change Ira= q from a state run economy to one that supports free trade, open markets and corporate involvement. <= /o:p>

Discussion Questions:

Who are the winners and wh= o are the losers?

What were the priorities b= efore the war? During the sanctions? Of the international community? Of Iraqi citizens?<= /span>

What were the priorities a= fter the war? Whose interests were being represented?

How ar= e peoples needs being met? How are they being compromised?

At what point did the disa= ster begin in Iraq?

Small Group Scenario: HONDURAS

The Structural Hurricane:

&nbs= p; Unlike all of its Central American neighbors, Honduras managed to make it o= ut of the 1970s and 80s without a civil war.&nbs= p; Beyond that feat, the nation has endured many of the same processes = of debt, urbanization and structural adjustment that have affected the rest of= Latin America.&nbs= p; These processes have left the majority of the people impoverished, have concentrated wealth into the hands of a small elite class and funneled resources out of the region to the developed world.

By 1990 borrowing for development had created a $3.7 billion= external debt. In order to receive assistance to p= ay the debt, Honduras followed International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Inter-American Development B= ank (IDB) structural adjustment programs (SAP). The 1990 neoliberal adjustment res= ulted in a switch to an export oriented agricultural sector, the growth of foreign investments as maquiladoras (fa= ctories that produce goods for export), and a decline in government spending on infrastructure and public services. During the 1990s Honduras remained one of the least developed and poorest nations in the hemisphere.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> In 2000 more than two-thirds of the population lived at or below the poverty level and 49 percent of the popula= tion lived in extreme poverty.

&nbs= p;

Agriculture: Export oriented agriculture emphas= izes growing crops solely for export (coffee, beef, bananas, etc) instead of gro= wing food for sale in local markets or to feed the farmer. In order to make more profits, lar= ger farmers and corporations accumulate more and more land, pushing small farme= rs out of fertile areas onto steep slopes where they use slash-and-burn method= s to clear forest.

Urbanization: Many of those farmers and their fa= milies cannot survive on what little land they clear and leave their communities behind to move to urban areas in order to seek waged work. New arrivals build new neighborhoo= ds of unsafe homes on slopes surrounding the city. This sprawl creates a need for more infrastructure (roads, water, sewer) and services (schools, education). Honduras’s urban popula= tion doubled from 20 to 40 percent from 1950 to 2000. From both rural and urban areas, growing numbers of Hondurans have left the nation in order to head n= orth to find work.

Formal and Inf= ormal Sectors: Cities do not ha= ve enough jobs for the booming urban population so people create their own unregulated jobs, such as street vending, in the informal sector. People who are able to find jobs o= ften work in the growing maquiladoras - factories which import unfinished items, primarily textiles and apparel from the United States, and re-export the finished products, usually back to the US.

Government= : Structural Adjustment Programs enf= orced by the IMF, WB, and IDB force the government to cut social spending and fun= ding for infrastructure while continually increasing the share of the nationR= 17;s GDP devoted to paying off the debt. Thus the nation is left with crumbling infrastructure and insufficie= nt services.

The Physical Hurricane:

   &nbs= p;        In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch emerged out of the Atlantic Basin and became a category 5 hurricane. As the storm approached the Caribbean coast of Central America, its = winds reached 290 kilometers per hour and it made landfall as a tropical storm, saturating Honduras an= d Nicaragua. Some areas of Honduras received more rain i= n five days than they usually do in a year. The rain created deadly mudslides and flooded the capital while the winds destroyed homes and crops. Of 6.2 million inhabitants, 7,000 lost their lives and 20,000 were injured or missing. Ten percent of the population lost their homes, 70 percent lost access to water, and huge numb= ers lost their livelihood (farms, land, animals, workshops, jobs). Losses from storm damage: productive sector $4 billion, infrastructure $1.2 billion, housing, education and healthcare $800 million, raw materials and plantations $3 billion.

The Results o= f the Storms:

Discussion questions

How do you think Hurricane Mitch impacted: farmers? the process of urbanization? Poor = people in urban areas? Emigration out of the country?

What do you think the government’s response was = after the hurricane? How do you thi= nk the storm affected: public spending? Debt?

Reconstruction= :

The destruction of homes, j= obs and land by the hurricane and subsequent flooding and mudslides heightened the = need for growth in the economy.   International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank worked with t= he Honduran government to push through plans to increase agriculture for expor= t, increase tourism and encourage foreign investment in new maquila zones and by selling off formerly public entities such = as airports, telecommunications, and healthcare. The government has also sought pri= vate investors for infrastructure projects, ports, water and the energy sector.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> This new privatization program was= part of qualifying for debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIP= C) initiative. The HIPC process essentially hands over control of the nation’s economy to the IFIs, removing the government’s ability to increase social spending.

In addition to privatizatio= ns, the government’s reconstruction plan laid out a need for $3.99 billion in contracts for rebuilding everything from bridges to schools as well as buil= ding preventative measures such as channels and drainage systems. The government sought private inve= stors and aid money to begin reconstruction without involving civil society in the process or planning for any real structural change. Honduras secured $2.6 billion= for the reconstruction, including half a billion in loans which increased the foreign debt to $4.5 billion. That number rose to $5.6 billion by 2003, representing 134 percent of the value = of the nations’ exports of goods, services and income.

&= #8220;To achieve democratic stability, employment is extremely important, and that is why the country has been maintaining clear macroeconomic policies. Manageme= nt of various sectors is being passed to the private faction, and at the same = time stimulating investment in sectors like tourism, apparel manufacturing and mining to raise the demand for employment so that we can assure this economically active population that there is, in fact, income.” =

- = Honduras’ Minister of F= inance Gabriela Nunez

Land: Shortly after the storm, the govern= ment attempted to reform Article 107 of the constitution which protects indigeno= us people’s rights to coastal lands.&nb= sp; President Flores hoped to open up these lands to foreign investors in order to expand the tourism industry, but protests throughout the country prevented the changing of Article 107.&nbs= p;

Discussion questions

Based on this short introduction to Honduras, the effects of Hurricane Mitch and the reconstruction;

What were the priorities before the storm: of the government? of citizens= ? of the international community? Did these priorities c= hange after the storm?

What opportu= nities were created in the wake of Hurricane Mitch: for the government? for civil society? for transnational corporations? for International Financial Institutions?

Who are the = winners and who are the losers?

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Related Definitions:

&nbs= p;

Accumulation by Dispossession=

A mechanism within neoliberalism (= and within capitalism more generally), whereby wealth is redistributed, rather = than generated. The primary and continuing mechanisms by which this is accomplished include the privatization and commodification of land (as well= as the forced removal of peasant populations); the conversion of various forms= of private property rights; commodification of labor power and suppression of alternative forms of consumption; suppression of rights to the commons; colonial, neocolonial, and imperial processes of appropriation of assets; t= he slave trade; monetarization of exchange and taxation; and usury, national d= ebt, and credit systems. (Harvey)

Disaster Capi= talism

Using catastrophic events, such as natural disasters a= nd wars, as the basis to impose or advance the neoliberal state. While people are distracted by the impact of the catastrophe, state-owned enterprises are privatized and the government cuts social spending. This term was coined by Naomi Klein.

Eminent Domain

The right of a government to appropriate private property for public use, usually with compensation to the owner.

&nbs= p;

Gentrification

The restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by middle-class or affluent people, often resulting in displacement of lower-i= ncome people.<= o:p>

Militarism

The belief that it is necessary to= have strong armed forces and that they should be used in order to win political = or economic advantages. (C= ambridge Dictionary)

-related to-

Militarizatio= n

The process by which a society org= anizes its self for the production of violence. (wikipe= dia)

Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism is a theory of political economy that presupposes that human well-being can best be advanced by liberating indivi= dual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within an institutional framework characterized by strong private property rights, free markets, and free tra= de. (Harvey= )

Sanctions

Sanctions = are an economic or military action taken by a nation-state or alliance of nation-states against another as a coercive measure. They are generally use= d to enforce a violated law or treaty. (OED)

Structural Ad= justment Program

A series of economic policies designed to reduce the r= ole of government in the economy, replacing government control with market incentives. Structural adjust= ments require governments to commit to free trade, privatization, limiting their = role to maintaining macroeconomic stability and allowing the market to set price= s. (Healy)

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Related Acronyms:

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

IDB   = ; Inter-American Development Bank

IFI   = ;    International Financial Institutions

IMF   = ; International Monetary Fund

LSU   = ; Louisiana State University<= /st1:PlaceType>

SAP   = ; Structural Adjustment Program

WB   =    World Bank

= Disaster Capitalism: New Orleans and Public Health

Introduction

The destruction of the publ= ic health care system in New Orle= ans after Hurricane Katrina poses serious issues that involve the immediate community, repopulation and growing trends in public health care. At the start of 2005, Louisiana ranked 49^th in na= tional health, revealing significant problems in their health care system. New Orleans<= /st1:City> poor health is directly related to their high poverty rates because access = to health care in the U= .S. is conditional to an individuals socio-economic standing. Figures also show a strong racial = divide among residents ability to access health care.

U.S. Census Report on % of Population in Poverty

Families

Individuals

% Total Population<= /p>

New Orleans=

14.5

23.2

Louisiana

14.9

19.4

U.S.

10.1

13.1

White/New Orleans

5

11

28

White/Louisiana

34

27

64

Black/New Orleans

91

84

67

Black/Louisiana

63

59

32

&nb= sp;

U.S. Health Insurance Coverage by Type in 2001 (Kaiser Commission)

Employer

Individual

Medicaid/Public

Uninsured

White

72%

6%

10%

12%

Black

53%

3%

25%

20%

=

U.S. Non-Elderly Population Uninsured in 2004 (Kaiser Commission)=

Total Pop.

White

Black

Below FPL[2]<= /a>

Louisiana

17.8%

13.2%

21.2%

36.8%

21.5

Health Care Pre-Katrina

Prior to Katrina, Charity Hospital and its related facilities, struggled to serve an increasing large populati= on who suffered from high rates of chronic disease and depended on the public health system for their primary care. In the 1990’s the state transferred management of public healt= h to Louisiana State University (LSU). LSU was attempting to pool resources to renovate facilities and poss= ibly replace Charity Hospital, however, reliance on pub= lic funds deterred their ability to realize these goals considering rising costs within the health care sector. While actual numbers in patient care rose, they did not parallel the increased demand New Orleans had for its services. When Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005, the residents of New Orleans were already in jeopardy by= the deteriorating state of their public services. The events that came after did not= take in account their special needs, but instead, took advantage of their vulnerabilities.

The Disaster

      The emergency response efforts lead by the state and federal government disproportionately failed poor and African American citizens. It is still unexplained way this majority was evacuated last and having more difficulty returning to their homes. Meanwhile this populat= ion is struggling to meet their health care needs. The federal government refused to = extend Medicaid coverage to victims of Hurricane Katrina, a strategy they employed= in New York after t= he attacks of 9/11. Recent chang= es in the Medicaid program also endanger current enrollees of losing coverage thr= ough the reapplication process. Ev= acuees who are still displaced may need to become residents in their temporary location to receive much needed medical benefits, while residents who have returned to New Orleans are without any stable public health service.

Survey of Evacuees in <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Houston

What is Happening to Public Health Care in <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">New Orleans?

Nearly 9 months after Hurri= cane Katrina struck New Orleans, little has been done to repair even the physical destruction to the public hospitals and clinics. As the= city debates over how to rebuild/replace the public health system, services are performed by private establishments and a fractured public health system. Charity and University Hospital= buildings remain closed and only 3 out of 15 publicly funded health clinics= are operating on extremely limited resources.&= nbsp;

Charity hospital has been w= orking out of tents to provide essential care to the citizens of New Orleans. The makeshift tents were set up in= the Convention Center and thought to be a temporary fix for about 4 weeks after= the disaster. Six months later and operating under similar conditions, the dedicated staff was forced to reloc= ate so that the Convention Center could resume business in order to stimulate economic revenue for the city. Charity Hospital is currently working out = of an abandoned department store.

The slow progress to addres= s the damaged structure of the public health system is paralleled by the scattered effort= s to ensure affordable access to medical attention. Charity’s tents basically se= rve to stabilize patients before they are referred to one of 7 private emergency r= ooms in the area. If possible, pat= ients are referred to a less damaged public health facility which can involve multiple trips over 75 miles away. Considering the impracticality of this option, patients are essentia= lly forced to use the private medical facilities operating in the New Orleans area. The increased dependency on the ci= ties private medical facilities has not been followed with adequate funding plac= ing patient’s health and the remaining health infrastructure in jeopardy.=

Plans that are being considered by the government suggest= that public health is being dismantled further through the justification of neo-liberal policies. Politic= ians and their appointed officials claim that the undeniable problems that faced= the public health sector prior to Katrina lay claim to the abandonment of the system all together. Market-oriented solutions are at the forefront of these proposals. These proposals suggest the use of public funding to entice private companies to control a larger portion of management and distribution of health care services. They assume private management will ensure quality and efficiency, when in fact, privatization of health care h= as aided to its rising costs. Th= is places the residents at an increased risk as they struggle to return and re= build in a city that is plagued with toxic waste, mold and severe emotional trauma.

Hurricane Katrina and Public Housing

   &nb= sp; Neoliberalism privatizes public resource= s and attempts to create markets where there aren't any. Is that why the city official have closed most of the public housing projects, even ones that sustained very little damage, such as St. Bernard Public Housing? As people are being moved from tem= porary housing in hotels and the trailers once subsidized by FEMA are now being leased, it seems like officials are saving a broken system through opening = the market. In a time where famil= ies and communities are spread across the country, do we really expect that the “market” will be stable enough to provide for those who need help? We should expect that t= he market would be just fine after the focus it has gotten over things that re= ally rebuild a community, like reconnecting people, building accessible healthcare. In relying on the market, housing and rent rates have become too high for many resident who w= ish to return. And while there is= more money given out to help with housing than before the storm it is disproportionately given to home and business owners.

      Housing Authority of New Orleans reports that 876 out of 5,146 pre-storm families u= sing public housing are now being served, while 60% on those resident want to return.

Instead of paying to rebuild public housing that have instituted temporary housing voucher which will be paid to real estate owne= r at market rates. In a city with = a servere housing shortage, market rate housing is not = really affordable and the government is paying the bill for those fortunate enough= to receive assistance. The Federal housing authority is not able to keep up wi= th the demand, with 15,000 heads of household's on a waiting list for assistan= ce.

   &nb= sp; The Louisiana Recovery Authority issued a plan that would give nearly four times the money and assistance to previous home owner-occupants when 40 percent of the damaged properties were rentals. This means that those who owned a = home before the storm will be able to return easier than renters. This is following a strange neoliberal logic which says that those who lost more property should be given more aid than those had little property to lose be= fore the storm and now have even less. Even for homeowners, those who had more expensive houses will receive more aid then those with cheaper houses in an effort to bring houses up to their pre-storm conditions.

   &nb= sp; Neoliberal assumptions about the economy= are a major force in the reconstruction effort.&= nbsp; These trend affect us all and disaster capitalism gives us good look= at what is happening in our own communities because it happens so fast so is e= asy to see how it works and how it affects people.

New Orleans and Gentrification=

   &nbs= p;        Since the end of slavery the rich of New Orleans have had numerous land disputes with poorer citizens. These land disputes= have involved a lingering need to gentrify the city in order make it more profit= able for the rich residents and outside investors. Gentrification, according to Webster’s dictionary, is the restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by middle-class or affluent people, often resulting in displacement of lower-income people (Webster’s 2006). Gentrification is a tool Disaster capitalism because it allows for rich residents and outs= ide investors to profit at the expense of the poor. Historically legal and economic at= tempts were made to wipe out the poor but none had succeeded. Hurricane Katrina succeeded where = the rich investors have failed. T= he poor have been pushed out of N= ew Orleans and the Rich are trying to keep them out.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

The Beginning

The end of Slavery brought = a new era to the Southern states. F= reed slaves made up a significant amount of the population of New Orleans, city with large amount of unskilled workers. Many former slave owners allowed for freed blacks to work in the same fields with littl= e or no pay.   A backroom deal= with the north allowed for this rich dominated economy to flourish during the la= te 1800s and well into the middle of the 1900s. During this period blacks and poor whites were confined to impoverished areas. These areas suffered from the affe= cts of pollution, economic isolation and were at the lowest elevation level which = put them in the most danger for flooding.

Before Katrin= a

The 1970’s and 1980’s s= aw a rise in white middle class Americans moving from the inner city to the subu= rbs. These suburbs had a higher market value and were at a higher elevation. This is what l= ead to a shift in the economic dynamic of New Orleans. Poorer areas were redeveloped in order to create shopping areas for = the newly relocated middle class.  &= nbsp; This new economy was spearheaded by a booming off shore oil industry. This oil industry w= as supplemented by the cargo ships that moved goods up and down the Mississippi and a bountiful tourist industry.

The Hurricane

   &nbs= p;        Hurricane Katrina removed a large population of the poor people from New Orleans and has set the stage for p= rivate developers and landowners to take control of properties that were once inhabited by lower class. The= use of Eminent Domain has allowed for homes to be taken from those citizens who have not been allowed to return to the city. Inner city property that was once = thought to be worthless is now prime real estate.&= nbsp; The only thing standing in the way of developing this property is the poor. Gentrification is Disas= ter Capitalism’s answer to this problem and eminent domain is one of the major tools that is being used solve this “problem”.

Notice the proximity of this housing project to bourbon street corridor and other private commercial properties.

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From the map= below you can see that the areas the flooded the most were poorer areas like the lower 9^th ward. These areas are at the lowest elevation and are = the most undesirable. =

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The aim of Gentrif= ication is to keep the rich in safe and prosperous areas while the poor stay in uns= afe and impoverished areas. This flood map illustrates this by showing that the richer areas like the French Quarter are at a higher elevation. =

<= ![endif]>This map illustrates the floodin= g of New Orleans.

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The Lower

9^th Ward

What is Eminent Domain?

Eminent D= omain is the result of the fourth and the fifth amendments of the Constitution of= the United States. It allows for the government to ac= quire private property without the consent of the owner if the land is to be made viable for rebuilding for a better cause.&= nbsp;

The fourth amendment allows for land = to be taken if there is cause for seizure.

Amendment IV: The right= of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, agai= nst unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things= to be seized.

The fifth amendme= nt allows for land to be taken if “proper” compensation is given f= or the property.

Amendment V: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infam= ous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cas= es arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual serv= ice in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the sa= me offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled= in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private propert= y be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Both of these amendments can be interpreted in ways that are detrimental to homeowners.

How can Eminent Domain Hurt the People of New Orleans?=

Eminent Domain will allow for the government (State and Federal) to take private property from those who own it. Landlords, renters and homeowners are all in danger of losing their homes as the land can be sold = for various profitable reasons. <= o:p>

Quick Facts About Eminent Domain

·= ;      = Land Disputes over Eminent domain go all the= way back to 1798.

This is a bill that will not = allow public property to be taken and given to private developers. This bill also proposes to li= mit federal funds that will be given to these projects.

The Canal Street Example

= ;           The Iberville projects make up one New Orleans’s ten public housing projects. It sits near the French Quarter an= d sits on what was formerly know as the red-light district. In New Orleans Ibervil= le faces the stigma of being a poor area of drugs, violence and crime. This leads many local residents to= see Iberville as threat to the French Quarter and its upscale businesses. Various reports of tourists from t= he French Quarter being assaulted as they traveled through these projects are = all too real to upper class citizens. Peggy Wilson, a recent mayoral candidate, was even quoted as saying = that Iberville is “a bed of crime, poverty and drugs”.

= ;           Hurric= ane Katrina brought over three feet of standing water and scattered most of the Iberville residents to other parishes.&nbs= p; Many residents believe that Iberville will meet the same fate as St Thomas Housing Project, a public housing project in the garden district that was bulldozed and rebuilt as condos and market price rental housing.

= ;           Ibervi= lle is being rebuilt at a very slow rate and only 188 of its 600 families have = been allowed to return . Currently a plan to rebuild is bei= ng proposed. This plan is called= the “Iberville Rebirth” and focuses on renovating the projects and creating market-rate housing.   Many do not realize that bulldozing the projects and crating market-scale housing will leave the former residents, most of whom are poor= and black, with no homes to return to. <= /span>

Disaster Capitalism in Iraq

What is a disaster zone? If anything can be characterized as such it is the aftermath of a war. A place where water and electricity are not available to anyone but an elite few, a place where hardly anyone is able to receive medical help, a place where ma= ny homes are uninhabitable; this is what is meant by a disaster zone. A disast= er zone is a prime location for exploitation, there is money to be had in its reparation. Is this money earned in malice, or perhaps just with a lucid neglect?

On May 1^st 2003 Presiden= t Bush declared the country of Iraq “liberated” while the country was still bleeding from the bludgeoning we inflicted it with. Shortly thereafter corporations begin to = bid on contracts for the rebuilding process. These companies, which included Bechtel and Halliburton, were assigned various aspects of Iraq= 217;s infrastructure such as the water, sewage plants, and the electricity.

Now to hear these companies= speak of their reparative pursuits, one would get the feeling that they are not b= ut veritable corporate angels swooping into disaster zones in order to wash the country with the holy water of their capital, ascending only after the coun= try is a happy one. Indeed this is how the United States government has planned our public perception on the subject, and perhaps they thought that= is how it would turn out.

Three years after the euphe= mistic word “liberated” was used to describe a disaster zone, the coun= try is still struggling immensely. Electricity only works some of the time, wat= er is gone for days and the people are left to drink from the Tigris River which is where the mass amount of the faulty sewage system leaks into, the companies have not adequately done their job. Yet they still are collecting money hand over fist!

Why in the world would a corporation stand to still make money even if they are not doing their job = in the right fashion and people suffer because of it? One answer is in the contract the U.S. gives to them, it is known as a No-Bid Contract.

What is a no-= bid contract?

A no-bid contract factors h= ighly in the disaster capitalism of this day and age. A no-bid contract is intended = to protect corporate interests. It allocates a certain lump sum to be paid to a corporation regardless of if their job is completed or what it costs. This = is to make it lucrative enterprise for the corporation to want to invest and is supposed to lower the risk and create a competitive zone in which corporati= ons compete for the best contracts out of the government’s money. So, the corporations are making money whether or not their work is completed well o= r at all. The U.S. government has assigned these public corporations the public services for Iraqis, in the assumption that they will do the best job and j= ump start Iraq as a global player in the worlds economy, a part of the WTO and a firm trading partner with the rest of the worlds strong countries.

Paul Bremer was appointed by President Bush as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority on May 6^=
th 2003. Bremer used to consult large corporations on the losses they may encounter while in the process of globalization, he has also been highly involved in U.S. foreign policy since his twenties.

The Coalition Provisional A= uthority is an organization who’s role it is to “exercise government temporarily and as necessary in Iraq.” Furthermore they are responsible for the grand oversight of the infrastruct= ure in Iraq, which includes basic amenities that many of us here in the U.S. would cringe to fathom a= life without. On their list of things to do was the privatization of all 192 sta= te owned companies in the country. With the power instilled upon them they cha= nged Iraqi law in order to create a better breeding ground for the free trade agenda.

There was a tremendous war = in Iraq. M= any Iraqis died and were wounded, they need help to rebuild their floundering society, and the corporations that were assigned the job of helping them are making a lot of money for it.

Is there anyt= hing wrong with that?

War profiteering is nothing= new. During World War II millionaires were made from selling butter, cigarettes, coffee and chocolate to troops. Not to mention the weapons industries which always stand to make a profit. That is our society implores, opportunistic money making. Do morals fit into the equation? Would those ever be rewarded? Certainly not monetarily; and this seems to be a society that finds the accruement of wealth a defining answer of success, regardless of other fact= ors.

Capitali= sm is an economic policy. It just so happens that this economic policy is the one th= at the United States adheres to. Capitalism is based off competition for individual wealth. In i= ts ideal form people will compete against one another for money creating newer= and better ideas for earning it and therefore stimulating the growth of the society. So, people who live in a capitalist society would like to earn more capital, they capitalize on situations in order to acquire it.

Disaster Capitalism is the = attempt to earn money from catastrophic event in which people or environments are suffering. When the U.S. came into Iraq it open= ed up the borders to bleed the country dry and to capitalize on the disaster that= the bombs from U.S. war planes and the tariffs beforehand caused.

Is there something more imp= ortant than the opening of markets for free trade? Perhaps water…….shelter…….food….

Homeland security?<= /span>

How the war in Iraq has affected the ability to adequately address the crisis in New Orleans

=

   &nbs= p;        The catastrophe in New Orleans was directly af= fected by the war that the United States has pursued with Ira= q. The primary realms in which this can be seen is in the effects of increasing military spending at the cost of social welfare and disaster preparedness, = and in the post-Katrina federal response and its capacity for emergency respons= e.

   &nbs= p;        By investing so heavily in military spending, certain federal costs are genera= lly ‘downsized’ in order to redirect available funds. Areas of soci= ety that have been subject to budget cuts in order to make room for military generally share common characteristics. Social infrastructure and social welfare services often are investments that do not necessarily create an immediate return. As such, budget cuts for many of these programs are a more obvious option for the federal government, as the critical repercussions for such social disinvestment is not immediately felt throughout society. In do= ing so, however, social risk in increased.

The city of New Orleans provides a stark example of what is neglected while this country continues to pursue war in Iraq. The levees of New Orleans broke= in three places during Hurricane Katrina. The previous fiscal year, the U.S. government cut funding requested by t= he New Orleans division of the Army Corps of Engineers = needed to hold back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain by more than eighty percent. Since 2001, the total budget of the New Orleans distr= ict of the Corps has declined by 44.2%. The decisions to unde= rfund the levee system of New Orleans came in th= e face of one of the most active hurricane seasons, as well as a 2001 Federal repo= rt that stated that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the United States. This trend in budgetary measures and cuts clearly marks the priorities of the federal government. In the interest of “homeland security”, the United States chose to pursue a war in Iraq, while neglecting the basic infrastru= cture that protects U.S. citizens. Through the pursuit of this set of priorities – that of militarism and expansion of trade – the United States has created a disaster zone in Iraq and facilitated the creation of a dis= aster zone in New Orleans.

   &nbs= p;        Likewise, the economic strain of the continuing occupation of Iraq has shrunk the availability of resources needed for adequately rebuilding t= he Gulf Coast region. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – an= d the reconstruction efforts in these areas – have cost the federal governm= ent over $250 billion thus far, about four times the federal commitment to the Katrina recovery in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Likewise, spending priorities for reconstruction plans have further comprom= ised the stability of social infrastructure and welfare problems, compounding ability for individuals to recover.

   &nbs= p;        Another stark example of the direct effects of the continuing occupation of Iraq wi= th the amplified destruction of Hurricane Katrina can be seen in the availability = of the National Guard to serve a role in the rescue and recovery efforts. More= than a third of the troops serving time in Iraq<= /st1:country-region> are National Guard members; 35% of Louisiana’s National Guard was unavailable for Hurricane relief due to this very reason. Both Louisiana’s 256^th Infantry Brigade and Mississippi’s 155^th Armored Brigade – both of which = are serving in Iraq – were specifically trained in disaster relief. Further, much of the equipment tha= t the National Guard needed for Hurricane relief had been moved to Iraq for occupation purposes, including high water vehicles, hu= mvees, generators, and refuelers. The absence of the National Guard, compounded by the shortage in equipment, severely compromis= ed the ability of the rescue and recovery efforts.

   &nbs= p;

Dual Hurricanes:

Identifying the Pattern of Disaster Capitalism in Hondu= ras and Louisiana

The Storms

   &nbs= p;        In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America, especially Honduras and Nicaragua. Flooding and mudslides, increased = by human created erosion, resulted in over 9,000 deaths. Three million people lost their ho= mes and the storm caused billions of dollars of damage.

   &nbs= p;        In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast drowning the city of New Orleans and d= riving more than 80 percent of the population to evacuate. Of those left behind in Louisiana, 1,296= died and more than 300,000 homes were destroyed or made unlivable by the storm.<= /p>
For the purposes of this pa= per, we will look only at Honduras and Louisiana but please keep in mind th= at Mitch affected nearly all of Central America and Katrina’s impact was felt throughout the Gulf<= /st1:PlaceType> Coast.

Structural Hu= rricanes

Hurricanes are not uncommon= to either of these regions, but in the cases of both Mitch and Katrina, the effects of the storm were much broader and disastrous than usual. Part of the reasoning for this is = that the storms themselves were larger, faster and more dangerous than average, but these storms also coincided with a deeper, structural hurricane that had be= en ravaging these regions for much longer than the meteorological events. In comparing these regions and the= ir post-storm reconstruction, it is necessary to first identify this ongoing “structural hurricane.” The structural devastations were created by different, but connected, histories of inequity and impoverishment.    Mitch and Katrina both revealed this structural hurricane and clearly demonstrated that neoliberalism has set up the poorest people to lose t= he most and the already wealthy to gain the most after a storm. This inequity turns a common natur= al event into a disaster.

Disaster Capi= talism

After a disaster certain se= ctors are able to exploit the situation, gaining wealth and power from the reconstruction, while those who were marginalized by the structural hurrica= ne continue to be ignored or further harmed.&= nbsp; “Disaster capitalism” rapidly advances neoliberalism in areas devastated by natural and human disasters. Neoliberal processes of privatizations, weakening labor, decreasing government social spending, militarism, and reliance on free trade and free markets are reinforced.

The Louisiana – Honduras Connection

   &nbs= p;        Beyond both areas recently suffering cataclysmic storms, Lo= uisiana and Honduras are connected through investments, trade and labor. US owned (and some New Orleans based) banana companies have dominated foreign investin= g in Honduras= since the turn of the century. Banana plantations took fertile land out of the reach of small farme= rs and put those farmers who could no longer support themselves to work. Banana boats still sail from Hondu= ran ports to the port of New Orleans but fruit is not Honduras’s only export.

   &nbs= p;        When farmers are pushed off their land or are forced to find waged work, many tu= rn to textile and apparel maquiladoras in special Export Processing Zones. These foreign owned factories import unfinished items from the US, process them, and then re-export the finished products back to the US without paying taxes. These factories provide jobs but the bulk of profits stay outside the nation and = are not reinvested, while transnational corporations make demands for improved ports, roads and other infrastructure in order to facilitate their business. Maquilas employ more that a= third of Hondurans working in the industrial sector and represent 6.5 percent of = the GDP. Lack of land in rural ar= eas and the inability to find work in cities or the maquila industry lead many Hondurans to leave the country to find work elsewhere. Many come to the United States and labor in dangerous, unstable jobs.&nbs= p;

   &nbs= p;        The loss of homes, community, jobs and land after Hurricane Mitch increased the number of Hondurans emigrating to the United States and migrating within the nation. &nbs= p; Many Hondurans moved to New Orleans and created a vibrant community there. More than 200,000 Hondurans lived in New Orleans before the storm, about 82,000 as illegal immigrants. These people were displaced once more after Hurricane Katrina along with more than 80 percent= of New Orleans.

Labor Issues<= o:p>

Labor issues have arisen af= ter both storms but have taken different forms.&nbs= p; In Honduras the destruction of Banana plantations provided an opportunity for the transnational owners, such as Chiquita and Dole, to fire nearly 90 percent = of their workers and hire a handful back as contract workers. Chiquita’s subsidiary, the <= span class=3DSpellE>Tela Railroad Company, managed to dismantle the once = strong banana workers’ unions and communities by offering new homes for work= ers far from the fields and by subcontracting out harvesting work. Banana companies also mechanized t= heir production, switched to newer genetically modified fruit and diversified th= eir crops to less labor intensive produce during the reconstruction. Due to the destruction of land and= homes and the large number of jobs lost in the agricultural sector, Mitch created= a large pool of workers desperate for income and no longer attached to one region.

Some of the same effects ca= n be seen in post-Katrina Louisian= a. Many evacuees have nothing to retu= rn to – no jobs, homes, schools, or communities. These people are now scattered acr= oss the nation trying to either return to New Orleans or rebuild their lives in other communities. Workers in New Orleans are o= ften hired on a contractual basis, especially in the construction and deconstruc= tion industries, which inhibits the ability of unions to negotiate for better conditions. Many of these wor= kers are not given appropriate safety equipment and increasingly large numbers a= re immigrants from southern nations such as Honduras.

Differences

An important difference bet= ween Honduras and Louisi= ana is that Honduras is a = poor and less developed nation subject to the will of its debtors – the International Monetary Fund, foreign banks and other international financial institutions – while Lo= uisiana is a poor state within the wealthiest nation in the world. As a poor nation on the periphery = of the global economy, Hond= uras has been forced to adopt neoliberalism wholesal= e and restructure its economy to attract foreign investment and increase exports. Structural adjustment provides vast opportunities for corporations and investors to increase their wealth at the expense of the people of Honduras. As a poor, Democratic state within= the United States, Louisiana is a low priority for the Republican federal government, but after a disaster like Katrina, presents = the same opportunities for the same corporations to increase their wealth.

Profiting Off Disaster

Hurricanes cause destructio= n and this destruction is amplified for those already living in poverty. A main reason for this amplificati= on is that the only spaces for the economically and politically marginalized peop= le to live and work are either undesirable rural lands or overcrowded, undesir= able urban areas. While people are distracted by the misery a storm brings and struggle to survive in the upheaval, the people and businesses least affected by the storm, the wealth= y elite and non-local corporations, are able not only to recover faster but also to profit off the need to rebuild. Corporations fire workers and close operations at will= while governments are able to push through reforms using the catastrophe as an excuse.

After the storm in Honduras, the government created a reconstruction plan which sought to auction off airpor= ts, telecommunications, healthcare and the energy sector. The plan listed the need for reconstruction contracts totally $3.99 billion. These contracts went to transnatio= nal corporations and aid agencies. The aid Honduras received for rebuilding increased the foreign debt to $4.5 billion. That number rose to $5.6 billion by 2003, representing 134 percent of the value of the nations’ exports of goods, services and income. <= st1:State w:st=3D"on">Louisiana is und= ergoing a similar process in which reconstruction needs have been identified and contracts parceled out to corporations who have funds and connections. This process of determining needs = and awarding contracts has completely ignored the voice of civil society in both regions.

The Pattern

There exists a clearly defi= nable pattern wherein already existing inequity and poverty are exacerbated after= a catastrophe. People are dispossessed of their land, homes, and tools while communities lose their f= ree access to basic human needs through privatizations and budgetary cuts to so= cial spending. The items that peop= le lose are quickly purchased or stolen by the already rich and powerful, addi= ng to their capital. The loss of= jobs and dispersal of communities creates a pool of available labor who are no longer tied to one locale. Inequity is reinforced and the pat= tern is perpetuated.

Conclusions a= nd Alternatives

This pattern has functioned relatively smoothly and has been building the neoliber= al project for the past twenty-five years, but it does not have to continue. By looking at the situation in Honduras after Hurricane Mitch, we can identify the pattern and the moves corporations, the elite and the government will make. Understanding this pattern may prov= ide some insight for the people of Louisiana in this period of not just reconstructing roads, homes, and businesses but = of the social structure of the entire region.

After Hurricane Mitch, Hond= uran non-governmental organizations and many citizens hoped that the storm would= be a watershed event for creating a new society which met people’s needs= and a government which listened to the people.= There was a flurry of activity just after the storm, but the governm= ent continually ignored civil society and turned its ear instead towards the international financial institutions it is indebted to and the foreign corporations it wanted to draw into the country. While some positive changes did co= me after the storm, such as improved access to healthcare facilities, on the whole, Mitch became just one more tragedy in which the majority of the peop= le lost out and a few people won big.

Hurricane Katrina not only = has presented an opportunity for large corporations to make more money, but als= o an opportunity to truly change how society functions in Louisiana. The people of the Gulf Coast have a chance to interrupt this pattern and create an alternate system. One clear example that is actually happening is the creation of several community run health clinics in New Orleans after= the closure of the only public hospital. These small operations have been formed within the neediest communit= ies and offer basic healthcare free of charge as an alternative to the other hospitals in the area, all of which are private.

As we watch Louisiana rebuild, we all need to look= at our communities and identify our own structural hurricanes. Who is marginalized and disempowered? What would happ= en to these people during a cataclysmic event?&n= bsp; Would that event be a disaster which reinforces inequity? Can we find ways to transform our communities to prevent this process of disaster capitalism from continuing?

Resource List

If this workshop has interested you in any of these to= pics, please use the resources below to find out more information.

Disaster Capitalism & Neoliberalism

Harvey, David. = A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Klein, Naomi. <= /span>“The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.” The Nation. 2 May 2005. Vol 280, Is 17= pg 9 – 12.

Pelling, Mark, ed. Natural Disast= ers and Development in a Globalizing World.= London: Routledge, 2003.

New Orleans

articles

Abramson, David PhD. MPH and Richard Garfield, RN, DrPH. &= #8220;On the Edge: Children and Famili= es Displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Face a Looming Medical and Mental Health Crisis.” Childern’s Health Fund. (2006).

Altman Drew, PhD., John M. Benson, MA, Robert J. Blendon, PhD, Mollyann Brodie, PhD, and Erin Weltzien. “Experiences of Hurricane Ka= trina Evacuees in Houston Shelters: Implications for Future Planning.” American Journ= al of Public Health. 2006.

Fausset, Richard. "A Hazy Horizon for New Orleans Public Housing." The LA Times. 21 Apr. 2006

Fischer,Will<= /span> and Barbara Sard. “Housing Needs Of Many Low-Income Hurricane Evacuees Are Not Being Adequately Addressed” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Library of Congress. “= ;Private Property Protection Act.” Sept. 2005.

Louis , Errol. “The Ugly Truth.” New York Daily News. 5 Sept. 2005. &= nbsp;

Mosehr, Anne., Barry D. Kiem and Susan A = Franques. “Downtown Dynamics.” American Geography Society of <= st1:State w:st=3D"on">New York, 1996.<= /span> p 497-5= 19.

Summers, Dale A. “Black and White in New Orleans: A Study in Race Relations.” The Journal= of Southern History, 1974. p 1-24..

websites

Louisiana Recovery Authority.&= nbsp; “The Road Home Plan” http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/cdbg/DRHousing.htm

Times-Picayune. www.NOLA.com.

Association of Community Organizat= ions for Reform Now. www.ACORN.= com.

Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO), www.hano.org<= /p>

“Key Facts on Race, Ethnicit= y and Medical Care.” <= span class=3DGramE>Kaiser Commission.&nb= sp; 2006. http://www.kff.org/minorityhealth/upload/Key-Facts-Race-Ethnicity-Medical-C= are-Chartbook.pdf

Louisiana Geographic Information Center. “Louisiana Hurricane Impact = Atlas 2005.” http://lagic.lsu.edu/

Iraq

Chatterjee, Pratap. Iraq, Inc. A Profitable Occupation. Seven Stories Press, 2004.<= /span>

.

Juhasz, Antonia. The Bu= sh Agenda: Invading the World One Economy at a Time. Regan Books: HarperCollins Publish= ers, 2006.

Honduras<= /st1:place>

Bradshaw, Sarah. “Socio-economic impacts of natural disasters: a gender analysis.” Santiago: United Nations Publications, = 2004.

Calderón, Manuel et al. ̶= 0;Deciphering Honduras= : Four Views of Post-Mitch Political Reality.” Hemisphere Initiatives. Cambridge: Sept 2= 002.

Economic Commission for Latin Amer= ica and the Caribbean. United Nations “Honduras: Assessment of the Damage Caused by Hurricane Mitch: Implications for econom= ic and social development and for the environment.” 1998.

NACLA Report on the Americas. “Cent= ral America After Mitch.” Sep/Oct 1999. Vol= 33. Is 2

websites

Inter-American Development Bank. Consultative G= roup for the Reconstruction and Transformation of Central Ame= rica. http://www.iadb.org/regions/re2/co= nsultative_group/index.htm

	Families	Individuals	% Total Population<= /p>
New Orleans=	14.5	23.2
Louisiana	14.9	19.4
U.S.	10.1	13.1
White/New Orleans	5	11	28
White/Louisiana	34	27	64
Black/New Orleans	91	84	67
Black/Louisiana	63	59	32

	Employer	Individual	Medicaid/Public	Uninsured
White	72%	6%	10%	12%
Black	53%	3%	25%	20%

Total Pop.	White	Black	Below FPL[2]<= /a>	Louisiana
17.8%	13.2%	21.2%	36.8%	21.5

The Expansion of Neoliberalism through

Thanks to…

New Orleans &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp;

Resources = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp;

The Storm

The Reconstruction

Healthcare

Housing

Schools

Introduction

The Iraq War and Reconstruction

Discussion questions

Discussion questions

Accumulation by Dispossession=

Gentrification

Sanctions

Sanctions = are an economic or military action taken by a nation-state or alliance of nation-states against another as a coercive measure. They are generally use= d to enforce a violated law or treaty. (OED)

= Disaster Capitalism: New Orleans and Public Health

Introduction

Health Care Pre-Katrina

The Disaster

What is Happening to Public Health Care in <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">New Orleans?

Quick Facts About Eminent Domain

Resource List

Disaster Capitalism & Neoliberalism

New Orleans

Iraq

Honduras<= /st1:place>