A year and a half after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of thousands of Louisianans remain scattered across the country, unable to return to their homes for lack of jobs and lack of money to rebuild their lives. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who faces re-election this November, has repeatedly sought federal assistance to help her state and its residents recover from the deadly storm.
So what was Louisiana State Treasurer John Kennedy doing in Mexico City in January, expressing his appreciation for workers from that country — many of them in the U.S. illegally — while countless Louisianans are pleading for the opportunity to go home and go to work? Speaking to the Mexico City Bankers Club, Kennedy said, “There is no doubt in my mind that we could not have made nearly the progress we have made without the working people from your country who have come to my state to rebuild.”
In case it wasn’t clear, Mr. Kennedy works for the people of Louisiana.
At that same meeting of the Mexico City Bankers Club, U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral (you’ll find her signature on the bills in your wallet) spoke glowingly about the remittances being sent by Mexicans working legally and illegally in the U.S. In 2006, an estimated $22 billion were shipped out of the U.S. economy and into Mexico. Cabral called remittances a driving force for Mexico’s economic growth.
In case it wasn’t clear, Ms. Cabral is actually the Treasurer of the United States.
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