What would the US economy be like today if September 11 had never happened?
969457
I would expect the economy will be significantly stronger than what we have.\nThe housing market would be cheaper and more affordable. \nThe interest rate will be higher than what we have right now.\nOur national debt will be much much lower.\nInflation will be higher than what we have today.\n\n911 has definitely speed up the recession and cause dipping.  If you remember months after 911, many companies complains the sales dropped significantly and causing massive layoffs.\nThe interest rates dropped to the lowest ever so to stimulate the economy.  At the same time, people pull money out of the stock market and put them into their mortage and properties.    Because of the interest rate was lower,  real estates becomes a good investment.    And people are buying more homes and sky rocketing the housing prices, even though the eonomy was bad.\n\nNow with the housing is so expensive, people has to put more money into the mortage than before So they don't have much more money to spend on other luxury items.    That causes some big high-end stores to dropped in sales.\n\nAlso, because of the 911, we spent much more money on securities and defenses.     That raise the cost for travel and transportations and overall government budgets.    That cuts down on programs that help low income and government programs.\n\nAlso 911 has cause the stock market to dropped significantly and many people lost their money big time on their retirement plans and their net worth in the brokerage accounts.     \n\nIf we had not had the 911, the median net worth for people will be higher.   And the median debt per person will be lower.\n\nJust my opinion.
649228
I have not seen this but i can only imagine the theory behind 9/11.  I know that it was not by accident that the twin towers came a tumblin down...but i also know that it would never have happened if the gov't wasn't in on it. It is just to tragic and too big of a game for it to happen on American soil.
473298
Illegal aliens are not worse than 9/11.\n\nIf half of the illegal immigrants were forced to leave than there would be 5 million more jobs available to working class Americans.  In addition those employers would then be forced to pay decent wages and to hold workers comp insurance.\n\nThere would be less drain on hospitals which are required to treat everyone who comes into the emergency room, lowering medical costs.  The military would not be affected, but we would have to increase border patrols and border security.  Personal services would probably start costing slightly more.  Most manufacturing is already done overseas (most jobs in the U.S. are now service related) so there would be less effect there.
79304
Good question. I'd would do both. i would travel to the future to see the status of society, if things are extremely bad find out what caused it and come back to the present and make an effort to prevent that from happening.\n\nNow for the past. I would take all available video footage and documentaion of the events of 9/11 go back at least one month prior to it happening and give that information to the MEDIA not the government that way WE the people can convice the government to take action to prevent 9/11.\n\nThird go back five years to New Orleans with all documention about katriana and hope that the people take better action to prevent the destrtuction of what happened there.
150009
If I understand your assignment correctly, our economy has been changed by terrorism due to 9-11 because of the shock to economies based on tourism (remember, people were afraid to travel); job losses, particularly in the service industry; and housing.  Because of the war against terrorism and the interference with oil production, costs have been driven up.  The higher oil price impacts everything because of freight costs: food trucked from warehouse to local grocer, manufacturing, housing materials.\n\nAlso, the higher price means we all pay more at the pump.  For those with low discretionary income ($ left after paying rent or mortgage and utilities, car payments or car lease payments) (aka fixed expenses), the higher gas price in effect drives down their wages because it is costing more to drive to work.  This extra expense means less money for other things, such as necessities as food, and less to spend on new clothes, CDs, and other manufactured goods, the sale of which brings up the US economy.
124796
No - job creation since 1992 (the year NAFTA was signed) has hit all time highs. The US economy has grown considerably since NAFTA, as have most measures of "quality of life" in the US (life expectancy, incomes, poverty rates, etc.)\n\nThere was no sucking sound - jobs didn't move to another country - they moved to different industries - more productive industries.\n\nManufacturing jobs are down but consider these indisputable facts, since 1993:\n\nNumber of households has increased 16.5% (1993-2004)\nNumber of persons employed has increased 18.9% (1993-2004)\nPersonal income is up 51.8% (1993-2004)\nPoverty rate has gone from 15.1% to 12.7%\n\nWe're richer, more of us are working and the economy has exploded since NAFTA. The most basic reason being is that all those non-productive, union-heavy manufacturing jobs went to Mexico and those once unproductive workers have moved into jobs that are more productive - for themselves and for the US economy.\n\nSo while jobs moved, Ross Perot failed to give credit to the American spirit and foresee that most of the displaced workers were able to become more productive.\n\nThose still screaming about the loss of jobs were probably those too unskilled to find alternative means of productive employment.\n\nThe key lesson is the importance of a quality education throughout your life to keep your skills sharp so when you find yourself with outdated, non-competitive skills you can adapt to the new environment and do something more fulfilling and productive with your life.\n\nDepending on your outlook on life - that's the cold hard truth or the beauty of a global economy.
598335
No economy is a true economy.  Capitalism, as is the dominant form of economy in the US allows market forces (supply, demand, cost of production, etc) to determine the price of goods and services.  There are factors such as govt. regulations, ceilings, and floors that also affect the price of these goods.  The role of government in true capitalism is to stay out of the way.  This also has consequences, such as monopoly and other forms of dubious activity.  I feel government should allow the market to work as naturally as possible, but use a 'guiding hand' when critical indicators (interest rates, oil prices, stock market crash, consumer confidence, etc.) begin to predict the economy is heading down a dismal path.
370431
Americans in particular and the other "leading nations" would have far more issues with it than the other "developing" nations, I think. A huge problem would be the loss of refrigeration. Some (not all, by any means) Americans don't know how to cook without their fridges keeping the food nice and safe for them, don't know how to do anything but throw it in the microwave for a few minutes until the little machine says the food is ready to be consumed. These people might be able to adjust, but it would be a long, hard road.\nAlso, what would happen to jobs? Most of us work on or with computers. Well, those would have just become the world's most expensive paperweights!! Some things would still be perfectly normal, though: school would still be in session, but classes might be held outside to make use of the light; cars would still run, but would gas stations?\nI think it would be a hard adjustment, but as a culture, we could succeed.\n\n~~Naomi
613924
September 11th, 2001.
1110430
Of course!\n\nWho knows, maybe 9/11 would never have happened. Wouldn't that be nice? And even so, Gore would have leapt out of that chair and he certainly would not have squandered the opportunity to pull the nation together as one. We would almost certainly not be entrenched in this fool's errand of a conflict in Iraq, and Iran wouldn't be playing silly buggers either... probably.\n\nWhat else? Well the deficit wouldn't have happened. Gore would have capitalized on the surplus that Clinton left behind. The rich would have a little less money in the bank, while the middle class would have about the same, maybe a little more. The poor would still be poor but their future might be brighter and definitely not just plain ol' bleak. We certainly wouldn't be giving tax funds away for fun while Social Security needs all it can get.\n\nMaybe everyone would be on the way to having healthcare coverage, including all those millions of children who we really owe it to. Abortion would still be a choice instead of on the way to becoming a distant memory.\n\nThe tsunami and Katrina victims would have been helped within hours... instead of several days to a week later. And the amount of goodwill spread by this country around the world would be cheerfully received. We would still count dozens of other nations as our allies instead of as pissed off neighbors. Vicente Fox wouldn't have decriminalized drugs just to piss us off. Colin Powell would still have a chance at the presidency someday instead of having to hang his head in shame. The UN wouldn't consider us thieves and liars at all future UN summits. Cheney would be back at Halliburton ripping off whoever he can and Rumsfeld may have resigned and just be talking gibberish to the television.\n\nMost importantly, our government wouldn't be blatantly breaking the law and the Constitution, lying about it, and then saying they're not breaking any law when caught. They wouldn't be spying on innocent Americans. They sure wouldn't be using issues such as illegal immigration and gay marriage as a distraction tactic.\n\nAnd I firmly believe that Gore's approval rating would definitely be outside of the toilet.\n\nInstead we got Mr. Loser guy and his comically pathetic cronies... and we're going to be in a world of hurt for decades to come.\n\nThanks Mr. Bush, I hope you enjoy all the money.\n\nAnd to Mr. Gore, if by some weird quirk of fate you do read this... please run for President in 2008. We've been without one for nearly six years now and it's really starting to show.\n\n\n[My friend Answerman is absolutely correct. Katherine Harris (who was probably doing Jeb at the time) made the decision. She's one of Bush's "heck of a job" people. Meanwhile, in Ohio in 2004, the Exit Polls told the exact opposite story to the supposed count. Since that is completely illogical -- and has NEVER happened before -- we can assume the whole thing was rigged. The illegal conduct was aided by the lack of any accountability in the form of a paper trail. For the Exit Polls to contradict the results requires everyone in Ohio to blatantly lie about their vote, which is 100% improbable.]
688818
It's hard to guess, but I'll take a shot:  9/11 would probably still have occurred.  Gore would most likely have gone into A'stan as a result of the attack.  Saddam would still be in power as I doubt Gore would have had the political will to confront Iraq.  Chances are that Bin Laden would still be alive (as I believe he is today).  The economy might be a little worse off, due to Gore's reluctance to engage in cutting taxes or spending on entitlement programs (even though Bush hasn't been much better in that regard) and appeasement of the enviromentalist and their religious adherence to the Kyoto Protocols.  Assuming he would have been reelected in 2004, Gore would have been able to shift the Supreme Court to the left with more pro-abortion, anti-2nd Amendment justices not to mention placing a more liberal chairman on the Federal Reserve board.  That's about all I can think of.  Frankly, beyong Iraq and the SCOTUS appointments, I don't see much difference.  Anyone who says otherwise is a partisan hack who hasn't been paying attention to how little difference there is between the two mainstream political parties these days.
992759
There would be a temporary panic, starting BEFORE the announcement and for 2 to 5 weeks.  After that the economy will "muddle through" and ALL lawyers (and their lawyering children) will have life-time employment.\n   Also: a) windows in N.Y. high rise office buildings will be guarded to prevent "falling bodies" from injuring people below. b) a higher suicide rate. c) I and many others will rush out to load our Chase credit cards with purchases. d)... e)...f)... ---z)..take your pick
594727
As long it stays as fact and not fiction. US films tend to exagerate the facts and manipulate information beyond recognition to suit a dramatic plot and this could lead people to assume things that didn't happen. Look at the amount of people that think the Da Vinci code is real?\n\nTrue 9/11 did happen but if the film doesn't stick to facts there could be an uprising of hate again.
552618
right NOW my job is quite secure... but it's impossible to predict the impact the economy might have on it down the road.\n\nthe effect snowballs as people have less disposable income, and they spend less on non-essential items (such as eating out: i work in a restaurant.)  fewer customers lead to fewer employees needed, so the ones that remain are forced to work harder to cover the slack.  and as the cost of the raw materials (in this case food) increases due in part to higher transportation costs, the profit margin shrinks to a barely manageable level.  \n\nit is a scary time for small business owners and employees alike.  a one-word description for the way i feel about the whole economy is "cautious"... we are in uncharted waters.
401848
Simply stated: Oil, Arms and Drugs.\n\nThe WTC catastrophe triggered a knee-jerk reaction that perpetuates the underlying militaristic economy of America.\nEver since WWII America has based her economy on being in a state of war or building up to being in a state of war. \n\nImagine, if you can, America without her vast military industrial complex. Millions would be out of work, oil prices would bottom out, the arms industries would fall off dramatically and the economy would be in ruins. Americans would have to stop buying all their toys like TVs, computers, cars, trucks, etc... America is more than interested in controlling Iraqi oil for our gas-guzzling machines and to keep her own military buoyant. \n\nDrugs. America is infested with drugs. America's got a drug culture. Legitimate drugs (prescription and over-the-counter) and illegitimate (grass and opiates) are all worth fighting for. Control the government of Afghanistan and you control the import/export trade of enormous amounts of opiates and billions of dollars of revenue.
217141
I think 9/11 was a big shift for a lot of people. To me, the moment of epiphany was seeing Hilary Clinton getting booed at a post-9/11 memorial. Before 9/11, the Democrats mantra was "It's the economy, stupid." My interpretation of that was "It doesn't matter how much our party lacks in morals or is void of ideas, as long as the economy keeps on chuggin' along." Much is said by the Democrats about how Bush didn't prepare for 9/11 during the 9 months he was in office before then, but nothing is said about the 8 years under Clinton where he gutted US intellegence capabilities. While Clinton slept (ok so he wasn't asleep-he was getting laid) Al Qaeda and other Islamist groups were getting more powerful.\n\nBut I think the Democrats are crafty and have been able to skew things lately (with the help of their friends in the media and on college campuses) so that things look worse than they really are.\n\nBut overall, I think even though it looks bad for the Republicans right now, the Democrats and their tired, failed ideology still doesn't resonate with the American people.
520773
It would be good ole Democracy with two exceptions....There would be laws on profit margins. There would also be heavy tarrifs on imports! This is solely what is causing our economics to go downhill.