If you stand before a large body of water and throw in a pebble, a ripple effect occurs, stronger in the center at the source of impact. Our world has been transformed into a pond and the events of September 11, 2001, into a huge boulder. However this boulder has caused gigantic waves which have flooded American's lives for better or for worse.
Almost every event, occasion, and news story can be ultimately linked to the
events of September 11, 2001. Awareness has been heightened, racism
sharpened, and fears magnified. These feelings of terror have been
manifested in business reports, prices, and paychecks, that is, if the
paychecks are still coming.
The United States' economy has fluctuated on an almost daily basis based on
news from the front lines. Wall Street fell nearly 500 points immediately
following the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon. On November 11, 2001,
when the Taliban was forced out of the Afghanistan capital of Kabul, the
market once again rallied. The world economy teeters on a proverbial see --
saw. The US economy affects the European and Asian markets as theirs affects
the US.
On September 11, many financial trading companies felt serious losses felt
heaviest in the department of employees. Companies such as Kantor/Fitzgerald
lost nearly 700 employees. Their loved ones and others nationwide that have
been directly affected by the tragedy experience a new feeling of a tight
economy.
Since then, there have been dramatic rises in purchases of items now seeming
important. According to CNN.com: Gas mask sales at American Gas Mask have
skyrocketed 375%, life insurance purchases are up 50%, and applications to
work for the CIA have totaled 26,000 as of November 4, 2001. There have been
3,000,000 prescriptions filled for CIPRO, the antibiotic used to treat
Anthrax and nearly 450,000 flags were sold at Wal-Mart stores by September
15, 2001, only four days after the attack.
Airline travel has significantly subsided. "I think there will be a permanent
decline in air travel, I think there's a certain amount of discretionary
travel that was done before the attack will not come back." Robert Fenimore,
the partner with consultant KPMG LLP said.
Insurance agencies anticipate having to pay close to $50 billion in casualty
and property coverage. "There are going to be all sorts of claims that are
not settled for a long time." American Insurance Association spokeswoman,
Julie Rochman, said.
Retail stocks have slumped reflecting the consumers who have decided to
bunker down at home. The retail industry has lost an estimated $5 billion in
sales since 9/11. Mall traffic is also down 8.2% since a year ago. This is
perhaps from the rampant rumors circulating about possible mall threats.
American purchases have shifted to more necessities than luxury items. Last
year there was an estimated $1,250.00 spent per family in holiday shopping,
this year it's expected to only reach $750.00.
"What September 11 has done to the economy is to accelerate, hasten and
deepen the decline, but the decline existed before. The attack gave it the
extra push in terms of retail sales. If you don't have a paycheck coming in,
it doesn't matter how much the cost of gasoline has gone down," Kurt Barnard,
the President of Barnard's Retail Consulting, said.
The media sector has also suffered, especially with the growing perception of
its triviality. Advertisers had to pull ads due to the rescheduled list of
big events, like the Emmy Awards, the Latin Grammy Awards, World Series, and
big NFL games. Also, because of the major news coverage fall television
premieres were postponed at least a week.
In cities where tourism is the main source of economy, they too, have felt
the devastation of recent tragedies. The countries of the Caribbean, who are
now approaching their slow tourism season, did not end on a particularly high
note. Cruise rates have also gone down. Even just down the road, at
Everglades National Park the visiting rate has decreased. Maybe it's due to
the new installment of the National Guard.
Other economic effects include the quick rise in car sales most likely from
the very low interest rates at the time, and the big sales dealerships have
been running. Also, real estate in large metropolises has plummeted. On
average, the decline is 10% but it is as much as 40% in certain cities.
There are other effects that cannot be so easily documented in the business
sections. They are knowledge, fear, and security; those are also some of the
consequences of the September 11th tragedy. The US postal service will never
be the same again; they have shown that rain, sleet, snow, and even anthrax
won't stop them. A year ago, even four months ago, how many people within
the comfy borders of America knew anything about the Taliban, Jihad, Kabul,
or the dangers behind those names?
Knowledge most certainly is power and the more you have, the more you can do.
A new federal position has been created to keep Americans safe in their
homeland, airport check in, if conducted correctly, could take hours, and
don't think about entering a stadium with anything larger than a small hand
bag; this is security. These are all the effects of September 11th, for
better or for worse.
