Marketplace

The Fruits of Our Labors

First — thanks for responding to our coverage of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Your comments reflect enormous compassion and concern. As I mentioned in last week’s post, this is a story that will stay with me for a long, long time. And I do plan to return at least once a year to report on progress… or lack thereof.

There was one critical comment/question that several listeners sent in to Marketplace. Here’s a sampling:

“I was listening to the report on New Orleans and was wondering why the story was about how bad it was that people were not rebuilding. It seems to me that it doesn’t make any sense for people to build in a flood plain. Why allow people to rebuild in a place that has been flooded and will be flooded again. The smart thing to do is to give people money to build somewhere where it makes sense. Not building in New Orleans is a good idea, not a a bad idea.”

“Ms. Vigeland reported with disappointment that neighborhoods in the New Orleans flood plain were not being rebuilt. That people are not rebuilding their homes in an area that is below sea level should be seen as wise and prudent; not disappointing. With a rising ocean, relocating to higher ground is the only responsible action. This story could have been reported as a city moving forward (and upward) with an eye towards the future instead of seeing a failure to recreate a failed experiment.”

These may be valid arguments. But it’s a little late to be making them, isn’t it? This country had a very short — and shallow — post-Katrina conversation about how and whether to rebuild New Orleans. Ultimately the city decided to allow residents to rebuild in the flood zone… and as we mentioned in the show, in an effort to just get the population to return to NOLA, it even allowed residents to go to city hall to reduce their damage assessments so they didn’t have to elevate their homes. So you have to deal with that reality. And I’m not sure the political will exists — at any level — to move people out of the flood zone now that they’ve already returned. Why not make it easier for them to rebuild to a level of safety that experts agree could save thousands of homes, and possibly lives, in the next storm?

Moving on… we’ll be dedicating THIS week’s show to all of our respective labors, and the fruits thereof. We’ve got interviews about how women can become better salary negotiators (‘cause studies show we’re awful at it) and what the mommy track means for women who decide to re-join the workforce later in life. We’ll also take a look at the role of online job networking, where, just like offline, it’s less about what you know than WHO you know. And if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to run a business with your spouse all day and then go home to… your spouse… we’ve got some couples who’ve done it. Some worked out… some, uh, didn’t.

Meanwhile… I’ll be laboring on Monday — will you?

• August 25, 2008
• 0 comments

Personal finance in New Orleans... three years later

This week we’re doing things a little differently on the show. At the end of the July I paid my first visit, ever, to New Orleans. I was there for almost a week to check up on some of the financial issues residents are still facing on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. What I found — well — it captivated me like no other story I’ve covered recently. I’m still trying to get through conversations about my visit without getting choked up about what I saw and heard. THREE. YEARS. LATER.

It’s stories like these where as a reporter I find it very, very difficult to be evenhanded and objective. I wrote an essay that will end the show… and in an early draft I confessed that I was “angry” about the lack of progress and that I was trying to figure out why I cared so much. A friend and editor who listened to it said, you know, I’ve never heard you admit that kind of strong opinion on air… are you sure you want to do that? So I’ve softened it to “upset.” Of course if you read this you’ll know my true feelings — so is it ok to say on a blog, but not on air? I don’t know. But I’m doing it anyway. It’s just so shocking to go there and realize how many neighborhoods are still empty… maybe one or two families back on the block. No gas stations, grocery stores, fire stations, 7-11’s… some places you wonder if they’ll ever come back.

We have an interview with Tina Marquardt of the Beacon of Hope nonprofit who tells us about her neighborhood and what it’s like trying to repopulate a ghost town. People are finding that in their rebuilding efforts, they often run out of that last little bit of money they need to, say, put in a new sidewalk (because the current one is buckled) or put in landscaping or paint. So there’s this quality of “unfinishedness” to a good swath of New Orleans… even the parts that are starting to renew themselves.

Our major personal finance story is about the question so many homeowners face of whether or not to elevate their homes FAR above flood level. Most are required, if they raze and totally rebuild their homes, to elevate above FEMA-designated flood levels, usually 3-4 feet. But some were granted exceptions by the city early in the process and have rebuilt right on the old foundation… even homes that were a block away from a levee breach. They couldn’t wait around for the government to decide whether and how much money it would provide to help with elevation, which can cost upwards of 80-thousand dollars, depending on the size of the house. And those who have been able to elevate — some to nine feet above flood stage — tell stories of four inches’ worth of paperwork… almost a full-time job.

Each year since Katrina we’ve taken the opportunity of that anniversary to talk about preparing financially for an emergency. Things like where should you have your important papers, how much cash should you have onhand in case ATMs are down, etc. In fact we have a webpage devoted to the issue of emergency preparedness that you should check out if you haven’t done that kind of planning. This year I asked several of the folks I talked to in NOLA how their emergency planning has changed since their Katrina experience. They’ll share their stories. And our Day in the Worklife segment features Ian McNulty, the author of a new book about returning to NOLA after the flood. I found him at Finn McCool’s, the Mid-City neighborhood bar where he wrote the book.

We will, of course, also bring you the Straight Story and Getting Personal. Other non-NOLA stories include a feature about kids going away to “money camp” (hey isn’t that what we do on the show each week?!) and as we approach Labor Day, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich tells us about his first job.

I do hope you’ll tune in for our NOLA coverage. I’ve been wanting to cover that story for three years, but for various reasons they needed me here in the studios for each of the anniversaries. But I felt a pull to go and see it for myself and this year I did. And I hope you will go and see it for yourselves — and pour your tourist money into the French Quarter and beyond. I met the most wonderful, generous-hearted people who just want their city back. Unless the rest of us pay attention, I fear many of their neighborhoods will not come back.

Any of you been there since Katrina? What did you see? What else is on your mind this week?

• August 18, 2008
• 8 comments

Eating your words... and vegetables

Ok ok so apparently many of you are vegetarians and do NOT — I repeat — do NOT resort to buckwheat loaves as our beloved Cash Peters did. You eat well and manage to enjoy veg’ing out while listening to Marketplace Money. Excellent! Thanks for your comments over the weekend… we’ll be sure to air some of them in our next listener letters segment (which, by the way, comes around every four weeks or so).

So this morning we debated in our weekly editorial meeting about what kind of followup we should do around the dollar gaining strength and oil prices falling. There was some argument in favor of explaining the macroeconomics of what’s going on with the dollar. But I countered that unless and until it gains enough to really make a difference in our lives (i.e. it’s finally time to book the trip to EuroDisney!) that it felt too early to be doing that story. What do you think? Is the dollar’s value top of mind in your personal finances this week? If so, what would you have wanted to hear about it?

It also seems like yes, oil and gas prices are falling, but jeez we’re still at, what, $114/barrel and I paid almost $4.40/gallon over the weekend, so I’m not seeing any real savings yet. Are you?

What we did decide to do is look at two surveys that came out with what seem like dueling takes on the economy. One, published in USA Today, says “fewer economists believe recession likely…” and the other, published in Bloomberg, seems to paint a different picture. How are the rest of us supposed to interpret all that? We’ll talk to two economists about what’s really going on and which survey participants could be eating their words at this time next year.

We’ve got a bunch of Marketplace reporters helping out this week. Bob Moon is going to talk us through the practical effect of all those legal settlements over auction-rate securities that have locked up a lot of money that people thought was safe. How will they get their money, and what happens if all those funds just get yanked out of the market because people don’t trust those securities anymore? Steve Henn will join us for a quick followup to last week’s story about companies that cull prescription drug records and sell them to insurance companies. A listener wrote in and wondered how that’s allowed to happen in light of what are supposed to be pretty rigid medical privacy rules. Good question!

Scott Tong has a fun piece from China looking at the American shopping experience during the Olympics. No more knockoffs for YOU! And while we’re talking about China — anybody worried about all those foreign investment decisions you made way back, oh, a year ago when emerging markets were all the rage? D’oh!

And finally a sneak preview of our extended coverage of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I went to New Orleans a couple of weeks ago and we’ll be devoting much of the show the weekend of the 22nd to the personal finance and rebuilding troubles that STILL plague residents there. This weekend we have an interview with Allison Plyer of the Greater New Orleans Community Data Cater, who talks about the lack of housing, childcare, public transportation and more that are making it hard for people to justify returning to their city. The only thing they have a surplus of in the Big Easy? Jobs.

Hope it all sounds interesting… what did you want to hear about this week?

• August 11, 2008
• 5 comments

How we're Makin' (Marketplace) Money

Dude… I got a blog!

Welcome to the innaugural post of Makin’ Money… my stab at an online conversation about our show. Basically I’ll be writing about how we choose our stories, some of the sausage-making (depends how much of it you want to hear about), and hopefully hear from you what you’d like more of and less of on our fabulous program.

We have a weekly editorial meeting at 9 AM PT each Monday, so hopefully by the end of the day I’ll be able to give you a sneak-peek at that week’s show and why we’re covering what we’re covering. And through the week I’ll share any great personal finance writing I find out there on the Internets… feel free to do the same. I’m not sure what else might happen here — but please add your three cents or more. (Actually these days I’d rather have your three Euros.)

If you have questions for Chris… go forth and visit “Getting Personal.” And then come back and tell us all your best money stories.

See you on the blog rolls!

• August 8, 2008
• 6 comments