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In his speech Thursday night addressing issues brought about by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush proposed the creation of a “Gulf Opportunity Zone” to help re-establish a strong economy in the region hardest hit by the disaster. The plan would offer tax relief and loan guarantees to small businesses – including minority-owned businesses – and other incentives to help revive the region’s marketplace.
“It is entrepreneurship that creates jobs and opportunity; it is entrepreneurship that helps break the cycle of poverty; and we will take the side of entrepreneurs as they lead the economic revival of the Gulf region,” the President said in his statement made in New Orlean’s Jackson Square.
| BATTLING THE "WHIMS OF NATURE" |
Certainly, lawn and landscape contractors are well versed in the “whims of nature,” to which President Bush referred in his Thursday night address to the nation. Contractors often note the responsibility of weather in their companies’ work schedules and profitability. Lawn & Landscape is currently making efforts to contact individuals in the affected Gulf Coast region to make sure everyone is okay and find out what they've experienced and learned during Hurricane Katrina. Visit Lawn & Landscape Online often for reports on those companies, as well as information on how the green industry is responding to disaster relief and rebuilding efforts. |
Additionally, he made the proposition of Worker Recovery Accounts that would help evacuees who need assistance finding work. The plan would provide accounts of up to $5,000 from which evacuees could draw for job training and education, as well as child-care expenses during their job search.
A timeline for the plans was not discussed.
In response to criticism of the federal government’s handling of the evacuation, rescue and recovery efforts, President Bush acknowledged his responsibility “for the problem and for the solution,” and noted that every Cabinet Secretary has been charged to participate in a comprehensive review of the government response to the Hurricane. “This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina,” Bush said. “We’re going to review every action and make necessary changes, so that we are better prepared for any challenge of nature, or act of evil men, that could threaten our people.”
Likewise, the President encouraged citizens of the Gulf Coast and the nation to remember the resilience of the American spirit in the face of natural disasters. “In the life of this nation, we have often been reminded that nature is an awesome force, and that all life is fragile,” he said. “We're the heirs of men and women who lived through those first terrible winters at Jamestown and Plymouth, who rebuilt Chicago after a great fire, and San Francisco after a great earthquake, who reclaimed the prairie from the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Every time, the people of this land have come back from fire, flood, and storm to build anew – and to build better than what we had before. Americans have never left our destiny to the whims of nature – and we will not start now.”
Visit www.whitehouse.gov for the full text of the President's speech.