A friend from Houston who works offshore relayed this story to me. Could someone here look into it and see if this is accurate? If so, it is a scandal.

"I was chatting with a man from New Orleans yesterday as he was waiting for his ride to go offshore. What he had to say to me really ticked me off. In addition to pointing fingers at everyone but themselves, it seems that someone in the municipal scheme of things has decided to gouge the citizenry when they try to rebuild. All of what you said about the federal money aside...in order to do any kind of construction in most cities in our country you are required to get permits. Construction permits, electrical permits, and a permit to pick your nose in between jobs. This gentleman explained to me that he does contract work on his time off from being offshore and planned on doing the restoration work on his house himself with the help of some of his friends he contracts with...they would actually all work together to rebuild each other's homes collectively. He said that before Katrina if you needed a permit, you'd go spend about 30 minutes of standing in line down at city hall and pay about 50 to 100 dollars for the permit depending on the permit type and duration. Today it is a 4 day process and the cost is between $2000 and $3000 per permit. Now, YOU tell ME if it sounds like the municipal leadership really gives a damn about rebuilding their city? You're going to GOUGE families who've lost everything??? SOMEBODY needs to call 60 Minutes, CNN, FOX News, or Geraldo Rivera! "

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I think if the house was less than 50% damaged, and they are fixing the house then the permits are free.