Bin Laden, US economy & La-La land

~ "Did bin Laden hurt the US Economy?  Naaaa!!  Heeee Heee"

When I heard the news last night that Osama bin Laden was gone, I was pleased but took the information in stride knowing this did not signal the end of the war vs Al Qaeda or terrorism altogether.

I admit I did not run into the street chanting USA! USA! with fist raised.

I also chose not to write lies or defiant puff pieces about the superiority of America and the US economy..   It seems there were others very willing to do this in my place..  Idiots like Yahoo Finance which published an article entitled How Bin Laden Failed to Wreck the US Economy.

In this absurd op-ed,  the writer admits that "After the attacks, some businesses (airlines, hotels) suffered horribly, while others (security and defense firms) prospered. And some things did change. Iraq and Afghanistan exacted an enormous human and financial cost on the U.S. Funding the wars with debt —and with no offsetting costs or revenue sources — has aggravated the nation's fiscal plight."

But the main contention in the article was "Taking the long view, the attacks utterly failed in their effort to create new economic realities for the U.S. and for the global economy."

~ Pardon me while I sip some tea then do a 'spittake'

I will not go into a long litany of all the ways the US economy has been forever changed by 9/11 and pretty much all for the worse.  Instead I will point out a two highlights- a short one and more expansive one:

The short example--   After 9/11, the airline industry was so paralyzed and teetering on economic collapse, that George W. Bush gave the entire industry an immediate $10 Billion bailout at the time with another $20 Billion in reserves if they needed it.   And the US economy was in such horrible shape, the President had to convince people to continue consuming by telling people that by going to work, shopping, travelling and being fiscally irresponsible you were fighting the terrorists.

The long one--  In late 2001, the National Debt was at approximately $6.2 Trillion.   Today, it is at just over $14.3 Trillion.. an expansion of more than double in less than 10 years.  This money was spent fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (and now Libya) and to bailout all those arrogant, elitist banks, financial institutions and corporations that pretend they are solvent.

To give additional perspective, by the end of 2007, the last year before all the costly Wall-Street bailouts began, the National Debt was $8.95 Trillion.  Six years of fighting terror domestically and abroad cost the American tax payer $2.75 Trillion dollars. And that doesn't include the extra interest accruing by the expanding debt.

Ask yourself this-  if 9/11 never occurred, would the US have invaded Afghanistan?   Would Bush have been able to convince enough people to allow him to invade Iraq?  Would there be a Patriot Act?  Would there be TSA screeners touching the private parts of every person from 6 to 86 before they board a flight? Would there be a Dept. of Homeland Security with the budget and expenses it incurs? Would the government have expanded the budgets of the CIA, FBI, NSA and other departments geared toward fighting Al Qaeda?

Some people may think the current 27+ month recession and 9/11 have no connection-- guess again.  After 9/11, the nation went into a recession for most of 2002.  What got us out of it, was the creation and implementation of the housing bubble which expanded rapidly over 5-6 years before it all collapsed.  The bubble itself was propped up by government money and if not for all these trillions of taxpayer dollars keeping the system artificially afloat, the entire global economy would be in ruins.

Bin Laden was evil to the core but he targeted his strike perfectly for what he intended-- cause a severe jarring of the US and western financial apparatus.  There's a popular phrase used in political ads-- "Are you better off now vs X years ago?"    Well.. remember life in the 1990's-- was it economically better for you and your family then, or now?

He didn't just take 3000+ lives and cause a couple large buildings to fall to rubble- he affected our economy in many dramatic ways that in all likelihood will not end.

It is wonderful that the special forces succeeded as they did and a very bad, evil man is gone.  But to think that the US economy remains strong or is stronger than ever given the rise in unemployment, necessities like gas, food and utilities, increased bankruptcies and home foreclosures, etc...  you are in la-la land.