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Carpet Bagger - A phrase coined during the post Civil War era as a slang reference to Northerners who came south. By most accounts, these people were intent on profiteering by any and all means from the destruction caused by the war.

A more modern example would be the post-Katrina clean-up where thousands went in to work and charged outrageous prices for their services. I witnessed this first hand six months after the storm. Bulldozer operators charging $350.00 and up an hour to push debris and rubble into a pile. You got to pay someone else to move it. I actually saw a sign, written on plywood and nailed to a tree for the hourly use of a helicopter and pilot to "find" your lost loved ones and friends.

While the term carpet bagger may have initially had its' place referring to the "Yankees" who just wanted what they could get, the term still has a very real place. As most have heard it said time and again "those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it" and that, sadly enough is true for both our modern day carpet baggers as well as those who fall victim to them.

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