I'm now guessing that we are down $100 to $200 billion in total national wealth (i.e., two to four times the predicted total loss-of-GDP shortfall).

What scares me is that hurricane season is only half over.  Brad DeLong, economist

And when it is over, we have more "seasons" to face.  Will the levees be rebuilt?  Will we finally face the consequences of poverty and racism in America?

DeParle traces their story back six generations to a common ancestor--a Mississippi slave--and adds politicians, case workers, reformers, and rogues to an epic exploration of America's struggle with poverty and dependency.

That's the description of Jason deParle's American Dream, a book which has particular relevance to the  situations of so many of the evacuees from New Orleans.  It should be a good follow-up read to all the reports of disaster, disaster relief,  and government incompetence.  It's an antidote indicating how we can make sure that the hopelessness of so many Americans which Katrina has exposed will be addressed effectively.