Sitting in his silver dome under the freeway, a poster of Martin Luther King above his desk and pictures of Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother above his bed, Mr Hayes expostulates on the evils of America's welfare system.

ECONOMIST: The inner cities

NPR's Mike Pesca visited one of these staging areas on the I-10 freeway under North Causeway Boulevard.

NPR: Evacuating New Orleans �� But to Where?