Our Economy Since 9-11
Kurt Brouwer September 12th, 2007
James Pethokoukis at the Capital Commerce Blog writes a piece on how Osama Bin Laden tried and failed to destroy our economy with the attacks on September 11, 2001 [emphasis added].
‘…Six years ago, Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda weren’t just attempting to bring down the twin towers of the World Trade Center. They were trying to smash the American economy as well. Here is what bin Laden himself said about his goals and motivations back in December 2001: “If their economy is destroyed, they will be busy with their own affairs rather than enslaving the weak peoples. It is very important to concentrate on hitting the U.S. economy through all possible means.” And here is what al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri said in September 2002: “We will also aim to continue, by the permission of Allah, the destruction of the American economy.”
It is interesting to consider the economic impact of 9-11, yet it is very hard for me to be objective about that day. For me, the events of 9-11 are etched in my mind. I was at home that morning, very early in the day for those of us on the West Coast. My wife and I and our boys recoiled in horror when we saw that second jet flying directly in the second tower.
In my life, I have had a few such geopolitical events that imprinted on my consciousness. The first was President Kennedy’s assassination. I was in 7th grade then and we just had an announcement that the president had been shot. We went home in shock. Since then there have been other assassinations such as those of Martin Luther King, Jr. and then Bobby Kennedy. All were horrifying, yet the first one, that of President Kennedy, was the most shocking because I had never seen anything like it.
The terror attacks on 9-11 were similar in that I had never seen or imagined anything like it. It was at a completely different order of magnitude from any terror attacks I had ever heard of. Thousands lost their lives. All flights were cancelled. The stock market closed and then tanked when it re-opened.
Despite the horror of that day, we have survived as a nation and our economy has recovered and come back stronger than ever. Pethokoukis continues:
‘…Since September 11, the economy hasn’t suffered a single down quarter. In fact, it has notched 23 straight quarters of economic growth. (And despite the subprime mortgage crisis, this is likely to be the 24th straight quarter of growth.)…’
‘…Overall, the American economy is, adjusting for inflation, $1.65 trillion bigger than it was six years ago…’
The size and strength and resiliency of our economy is almost impossible to fathom. He pointed out that, since 9-11, our GDP has increased by roughly $1.65 trillion.
By way of comparison, the entire GDP of Brazil is $1.66 billion. The growth in our economy during what has not been a great time actually created the economic equivalent of Brazil.
Or, our economic growth created the economic equivalent of nearly six Swedens or 15 New Zealands or 32 Costa Ricas…
- Economy , Geopolitics , Investing
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