Time to show some forgiveness

Our View

Published on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 12:24 AM CDT

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As we enter into the sixth year since Hurricane Katrina tore apart our parish, we can look around and see how we have come back strong. However, there is still one piece of business that has to be addressed, and it is an issue that could help us economically. After the storm, the federal government loaned the parish $176 million to help rebuild. The St. Tammany School Board got $68 million and the rest went to the parish and municipal governments. They were loans, and we are obligated to pay them back, but the parish finds itself in a bit of a tight place financially. St. Tammany Parish went through a real economic boom, and the parish and municipal governments were flush with sales tax revenue after the storm. Then the country sank into a big recession. At first, it looked like the parish would weather it, but alas, it was not to be. As the rebuilding boom faded, so did the sales tax revenues. $176 million is mere pocket change to a government that bailed out giant corporation and banks with an $800 billion stimulus program. The federal government should just accept the loss and forgive our loans.

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