Storms blow Jindal higher

• By CARL REDMAN
• Advocate executive editor
• Published: Sep 21, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Hurricanes Gustav and Ike brought devastation for tens of thousands of Louisiana residents, but the storms had a proverbial silver lining for at least one man.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will likely end up as a major beneficiary of the storms.

The situation is a stark contrast to what happened to then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco after Louisiana’s last one-two hurricane pounding.

Any comparison of Blanco and Jindal’s storm experiences must be tempered: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita did a lot more damage than this year’s hurricane double whammy, and the state wasn’t as prepared in 2005 as it was this time.

Nonetheless, the comparison will be made.

The relationship between Louisiana and Washington, D.C., is different.

Blanco has said that she and Louisiana were victims of partisan politics in the wake of the 2005 storms — a Democratic state administration got the cold shoulder from a Republican White House.

Jindal, a rising star in the national GOP, should have no such difficulties. Jindal is a pal of President Bush and should get a friendly ear when he asks for federal hurricane aid.

After Katrina and Rita, Blanco had to make sweeping budget cuts to cope with emergency hurricane expenses and sluggish tax collections. (The post-Katrina/Rita revenue boom that pumped billions into state coffers didn’t come until months after the storms.)
Jindal won’t face the same pressures.

Jindal has asked Washington to waive requirements for state matching funds for federal hurricane relief.

But even if the waiver isn’t granted, state government is flush with revenue associated with Katrina/Rita recovery spending and with high oil and natural gas prices.

The effects of the post-Katrina/Rita economic boom are well known. Post-hurricane spending by people rebuilding their lives created tax windfalls for state government as well as for local governments across south Louisiana.

While total damage from Gustav and Ike wasn’t on the scale of Katrina and Rita, it was substantial, running into billions of dollars.