The entire city of New Orleans was destroyed and now Mayor C. Ray Nagin announced the layoff of 3,000 "nonessential" government employees. By cutting workers employed in parks, economic development, housing, finance, technology and law fields, the city stands to save about $5-$8 million in payroll.

The situation just keeps getting worse.

Although the mayor is the one doing the layoffs, the federal government is to blame. Cities along the Gulf Coast were hit by two hurricanes and were ruined. The situation qualifies as a disaster and those affected areas deserve federal aid.

It's understandable the government is trying to cut costs wherever it can, but now is simply not the time.

President Bush pledged in a speech last month to support New Orleans citizens in hard times ahead.

He's also proposed to spend billions in relief aid for the devastated areas. Was that all a facade for the American people to see that Bush is compassionate?

Cutting $5-$8 million out of the Louisiana budget will do little to help things along. There's still billions worth of property damage caused by Hurricane Katrina alone to deal with.

This is an inconvenient time for Bush to become fiscally conservative.

When a disaster strikes American soil and the government can't pay for it, it's not like the United States can ignore it. This is a problem that needs to be fixed as soon as possible, not in installments.

There are cities across the nation which go through a similar layoff process in times of economic distress. Although New Orleans and the affected areas aren't necessarily better than these other cities, the fact remains that there is no city. The city is destroyed. Dead bodies was and sewage littered the streets. It's not a case of how serious the need is, but how urgently it is needed.

We expect jobs will go away. That's one of the pitfalls when the private business sector is totaled and displaced survivors are finding jobs elsewhere.

But when rebuilding a city, what government job can be considered unnecessary? In the list of departments that will be trimmed, not one of them sounded unnecessary for rebuilding a city.

There will need to be parks, housing and technology and it's ridiculous for the government to think otherwise. Rebuilding will take a collaborative effort from many different areas, which will be hard to do if everyone is laid off.

It's unfortunate state government officials chose to make this move now during this critical stage in post-hurricane rebuilding.

Bush's penny pinching for mere chump change is not worth the effort. People down South have enough to worry about without having to apply for welfare.