More Money, Honey

Looks as though the estimate was short a few bucks:

The Bush administration said yesterday that the cost of rebuilding New Orleans's levees to federal standards has nearly tripled to $10 billion and that there may not be enough money to fully protect the entire region.

Donald E. Powell, the administration's rebuilding coordinator, said some areas may be left without the protection of levees strong enough to meet requirements of the national flood insurance program. Those areas probably would face enormous obstacles in attracting home buyers and investors willing to build there.

Some politicians are really, really, really unhappy:

"This monumental miscalculation is an outrage," said Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D).

"Every time we turn around, there's a new obstacle," said Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.)

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said the announcement confirmed his warnings since November that Washington is "stonewalling" and seeking "way too little money" for levee repairs.

Some US taxpayers who do NOT live in NOLA may be unhappy, too, if we ship another $10 billion or so to a city built below sea level.