He should start with himself!

New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin says the City of New Orleans is going to have to lay "off as many as 3,000 employees — or about half its workforce — because of the financial damage inflicted on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina."

I think he should start with himself.

After all, these people are being laid off due to financial damage. Ray Nagin should be fired for general incompetence.

"I wish I didn't have to do this. I wish we had the money, the resources to keep these people," Nagin said. "The problem we have is we have no revenue streams."

Nagin described the layoffs as "pretty permanent" and said that the city will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to notify municipal employees who fled the city in the aftermath of Katrina, which struck about a month ago.

The mayor said the move will save about $5 million to $8 million of the city's monthly payroll of $20 million. The layoffs will take place over the next two weeks.

"We talked to local banks and other financial institutions and we are just not able to put together the financing necessary to continue to maintain City Hall's staffing at its current levels," the mayor said.

After all, Ray Nagin (and Kathleen Blanco) was responsibile for the City of New Orleans Emergency Plan, and look how that turned out. How much would his salary save?

And really, should such an incompetent person be allowed to have a position of authority during the clean up or New Orleans? I don't think so.