Continues the debate over the public policy decisions of meaningful building codes.

Comprehensive plans at the county or municipal level. Yawn. Why bother? Isn’t this a “free” country, anyway? Well, we’ve been yawning too long. A significant chunk of the $200 billion-plus bill from hurricanes Katrina and Rita might have been avoided if there’d been tough, realistic plans to deter development in exposed coastal areas through buffer zones, wetland protection, tough building codes and relocating settlements to higher land. Why? A deep-seated anti-government, anti-planning culture that’s paralyzed reasonable controls along the Gulf Coast.

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