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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
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