Life After Katrina

As Congress is now preparing a second round of Katrina-related proposals, it's important to bring ideas to the table that will help families achieve economic stability. Hurricane Katrina highlighted the fact that many Americans live in abject poverty, without any assets to draw upon in bad times.

The asset-based ideas proposed by the President, including an urban homesteading act to encourage the ownership of land and homes and worker recovery savings accounts for job training and education offer a promising policy path, while limited in scope. What other ownership and asset-building ideas can help these families rebuild financially sound lives?

Given the sobering survey data indicating that more than half of the evacuees do not plan to return to the Gulf region, how can asset-building policies work for limited-income families around the nation? This diverse expert panel, including experts from the Katrina-affected region, will share their views on potential solutions.

The Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus is Co-Chaired by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN ), Rep. Phil English (R-PA), Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN), and Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI).

Participants

• Jim Cooper
  (D-TN), U.S. House of Representatives


• Jackie Calmes
  National Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal


• Neill Goslin
  Program Manager, Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship, Tulane University


• Necole Irvin
  Special Projects Officer, Foundation for the Mid South


• Marcellus Andrews
  Economist and Senior Research Fellow, Asset Building Program, New America Foundation


• David John
  Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation