"Almost every city is suffering," said Dr. Walter Lane, chair
of the University of New Orleans's Department of Economics and Finance. "But I
think our degree of suffering is much higher."
The New Orleans economy is inextricably linked to
industries, like tourism, that have been disproportionately affected by the
spread of COVID-19. When asked if the economic impact of COVID-19 has been
magnified in New Orleans, Dr. Lane answered, "absolutely." Because of things
like the city's port and oil industry-dependence, the impact of COVID-19 has been
heightened here. And as the city begins to reopen following the tragedy and
economic turmoil of the virus, many residents recall the devastation of Katrina
and recognize some of the commonalities between these two disasters.
For one, the city's level of unemployment in the wake of the
virus is comparable to the post-Katrina environment and teeters on Great
Depression levels. "We have one of the highest unemployment rates in the
country because COVID-19 has affected almost all kinds of businesses, but the
ones that are peculiar to New Orleans, it has affected the most," said Dr.
Lane. Musicians, servers, and other gig economy workers struggle to remain
afloat, and for the first time in history, the government has allotted
unemployment to these workers, accompanied by strict stipulations. For
instance, because this is unemployment for freelancers and contract workers, if
a filer has had any type of W2 job in the last year, they are ineligible.
For the duration of both catastrophes, businesses were
forced to close, halting New Orleans's economic growth. Many closed their doors
for the storm, never to open again—a fear many harbor when considering the
city's current future.
Beyond the economic impact of COVID-19, there lies the
enormous tragedy of lives lost. According to WBRZ, Governor Edwards said
during a press briefing, "It's my understanding that the confirmed death count
now from this coronavirus pandemic exceeds the death count that was
attributable to Hurricane Katrina." And when one considers the impact of
Hurricane Katrina and that of COVID-19, the ones most at risk are New Orleans's
poorest communities. As a report by Talk Poverty stated, "Katrina was
not an equal-opportunity storm."
One important difference to denote when considering these
two tragedies is that "yes, money is coming in," said Dr. Lane, "but there's
nothing like the rebuilding money available that we had after Katrina." Because
"everybody's restaurants and retail are having trouble," the focus will not be
the recovery of the New Orleans economy alone but that of the entire country. The
uncertainty and fear surrounding things like public health that were associated
with New Orleans post-Katrina are echoed during this time of crisis. And the
subsequent lack of tourism, though not a problem unique to New Orleans, as it
was post-Katrina, will prove difficult in the coming months, as the city's
economy attempts to rebuild.
