Rebuild New Orleans

City and Port of New Orleans is one of the nations leading ports with over 500 hundred million tons shipped through annually. Right now local taxes collected on shipping accounts for 31 million dollars annually. Taking in to consideration the devastation incurred by hurricane Katrina and the still left unfinished cleanup and rebuilding needed to be done it seems quite reasonable to impose a surtax of freight coming through the port. With its new shipping terminal to be completed within the next two years it is projected that shipping traffic could double or triple in the next decade. The convergence of five major rail systems right into port of new Orleans and rail being one of the least expensive ways to ship products only guarantees growth that is projected. With ten million tourists coming to experience New Orleans per year there is another source of revenue to expand the rebuilding and cleanup of toxic waste that were deposited in the ninth ward and other areas. A reasonable surtax imposed on both shipping and tourist visits could generate one hundred million or more dollars per year to be used in the cleanup and rebuilding of New Orleans. The employment situation in the greater New Orleans area would improve by the influx of new revenue. With employment improvement tax revenues rise and a circle of good things happen with new businesses growing to support a better economic enviorment, further enhancing employment growth for years to come. With the right economic tools utilized New Orleans could become a model on how to reinvent a city that was virtually destroyed by Katrina.