bagsc's Journal: Cost of Terrorism

On September 11th, 2001, several structures were destroyed in New York City, the nation stood stunned for a few days, and 3,000 people died. Worst terrorist attack in American history. There was a recession, and we spent a hell of a lot of money on security and wars.

So what? I hate to sound fatalistic, but these sorts of things happen. I mean, it would be nice if all the money we give to intelligence agencies to prevent this sort of thing had worked, but they are government employees. Doubling security at airports meant keeping people from having matches and toenail clippers. Instead of one idiot getting paid $5.15 to just stand there, they had two idiots just standing there. And the economy had been in a recession for the last six months, we just didn't have the data yet.

But 3,000 people died - that means something, doesn't it? How many people died from heart attacks because of the news coverage? 35% more in Brooklyn for the 60 days after 9/11 - how many nationally? Heart attacks are more common than terrorist attacks in the United States. Since 2000, we're averaging 500 terorist deaths per year out of 300,000,000 people. And with 1,500,000 heart attacks in the US per year, a 1% increase in extreme stress levels would likely produce an extra 15,000 heart attacks. 500 people dying per year give you a headache? Take acetominophen. Only 56,000 Americans get hospitalized for acetominophen overdoses per year. Depressing, isn't it? 30,500 suicides in the US per year. Slightly more deadly than shoe bombers and toenail clippers.

It's called "terrorism" for a reason. You're more likely to die of fear than from the actual thing. When Saddam Hussein rained his terror weapon SCUDs at Israel in 1991, seven people died. Two heart attacks, and five suffocations in gas masks.

Let's just brush aside the deaths of civilians in Afghanistan (they had it coming). 100,000 civilians dead in colateral damage in Iraq? That's what they get for the 1% chance someone there was involved in a terrorist plot! 3,000 dead Americans there... who actually knows how many. We just know more than 2,500 are combat fatalities. 15,000 US wounded or so? That's nothing. 300,000 troops deployed, 50% of US military are married, and 50% of marriages during a combat deployment result in divorce (who knew war was stressful?), so that's a mere 75,000 broken homes.

$300 billion spent on war in Iraq (that's $1000 out of your pocket), as much as $100 billion in damages to the economy from 9-11, $50 billion a year in increased defense and security spending... But what's $600 billion between friends?

But that's all in the past now. Today, we have the ability to just take a deep breath, and let it go... The stress and fear will kill you, or worse. Contemplate the most expensive thing we have, and knowing that while we still have it, we're gonna be OK. We still have our Constitution, and our rights. That's what we need to protect, because a few hundred thousand lives ruined and lost, and a few hundred billion dollars lost will pale in comparison to that loss. The most damaging, bloodiest war we've ever fought was with ourselves...