Economic impact of WTC attacks

Economic impact of WTC attacks

Terrorism is an increasing global threat that was illustrated by the recent attacks on the World Trade Center buildings in New York. It was a highly organized attack and investigations have shown that besides the United States, planning also took place in different countries of Europe and Asia. These attacks are set to affect far more people than the American government it was intended to harm. Over five thousand people are believed to have died as a direct result of the attacks and many more deaths are expected due to the various consequences of this tragedy. In this essay I shall attempt to cover the far-reaching consequences of this terrorist attack, focusing mainly on the cultural, social and economic aspects.

I shall begin by covering the economic consequences that in my opinion far outweigh any of the others. In the wake of the September 11 attacks close to 250,000 job cuts have been announced, and a nine-year record high of unemployment claims have been reported in America. This number could have been even higher had it not been for the luxury of variable pay . By some estimates cuts in variable pay saved some 1.4 million jobs , that is 1 percent of the working population of America. Another study has found that these cutbacks will result in as much as a $30 billion drop in income for the first quarter of 2002 . This in turn will likely lead to a reduction in consumer spending that would have an adverse effect on the American economy. According to the Commerce Department retail sales fell 2.4 percent in September, much to the shock of Economists who did not expect a drop of this magnitude. Equally surprising to them is the apparent change in consumer attitude in October, which has shown an increased willingness to spend money and has reduced pressure on the economy.

Aside from the above-mentioned costs of the attacks there is also the cost of renovating the damaged areas of the pentagon which is estimated at between $700 and $800 million.

The collapse of the World Trade Center towers caused damage to surrounding buildings and the developer who leases the site has plans to rebuild the towers which will be an extremely expensive endeavor. The government of the United States has also promised compensation for the victims and their families in return for not suing the Federal government or the airlines. Some peop...

... middle of paper ...

...ed political or patriotic messages. Johnnie Hargis who had been working in the library for 22 years said he had never heard of the policy and that he was the only one punished.

In conclusion, although a tragic event, the overreaction of many people has only worsened the situation. In a time when people should join together to fight ignorance and be more understanding of different cultures a handful of people are only making things worse by their warped sense of justice. It is the year 2001, anti-Muslim sentiment in the west and anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world should not be tolerated if we are to be a true global community.

Bibliography

Daniel Eisenberg; Paying To Keep Your Job; Time magazine; October 15, 2001; Vol. 158 No. 17.

Geoff Hiscock; World Bank warns of poverty, child deaths; www.cnn.com; October 2, 2001.

Federal deal ensures victims' compensation; www.cnn.com; September 24, 2001.

Lisa Barron; Global airlines losses could top $10 billion; www.cnn.com; October 9, 2001.

This research paper also includes some information from various other articles at CNN.com that although helpful were not significant in the composition of this assignment.