Tuesday, September 13, 2011
The Economy since 9-11
Due Sep 19, 2011. What are the 2 most striking changes to our economy since that day? Which items do you feel absolutely need to be reversed? What item is the most important? Which item is least important?
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The two most striking changes to our economy since 9/11/01 are recessions and unemployment. From 2001 to 2011, the price per gallon gasoline has increased from $1.53 to $3.65. Gasoline is essential to everyday life. It not only affects people drive but also people rely on public transportation. Like we mentioned in in class, gasoline and food are excluded from GDP, which would make the statistics somewhat inaccurate. On the other hand, what I think ironic is the increasing number of passengers for airline after the 911 attack.
ReplyDeleteI would first like to say that this website malfunctioned all over my blog and forced me to redo it. Secondly I would like to respond to the question by saying that 911 seemed to cause an increase in military funding for Middle Eastern adventures. 911 also affected the oil industry... I think or at least that's what everyone had been saying around me. I was but a child at the time of the 911 disaster so I never fully understood the repercussions of it.
ReplyDeleteUhhh... Please tell me if I'm doing this whole modern technology blogging thing right. Kids these days and their crazy gadgets.
The two most striking changes to our economy are the federal deficit and unemployment. Regarding the federal deficit, it has gone from 128 billion surplus in September 2001 to 1.3 trillion deficit in September 2011. This trend needs to be reversed immediately as the future generations of this country will have to pay off this overwhelming amount of debt. Unemployment is at a devastating rate of 9.1% in September of 2011 as compared to 4.9% in August of 2001. Millions of jobs have been lost over these ten years. In the year of 2008, the US lost 2.6 million jobs. In order to strengthen the economy, people need to be spending. This presents problems for the 14 million people currently out of work. Most people do not have money to spend freely. I feel that the unemployment rate is most important and that air travel is least important. People are still flying every day as they have places to be.
ReplyDeleteThe two most striking changes in our economy since 9/11 is the federal deficit and oil and gas prices.In 2001 there was a $128 billion budget surplus; whereas, now there is a $1.3 trillion budget deficit. In 2001, the gas price was $1.53 per gallon and $27.66 for a barrel of oil. Now, gas is $3.65 per gallon and $88.93 per barrel of oil. These two issues are very important because the federal deficit leads to major issues with government spending and the oil and gas prices directly affect citizens because they are forced to spend a great deal of money on overpriced gasoline. One thing that definitely needs to be reversed is the federal deficit. If we do not reverse this quickly we will be forced to cut government spending which will be more detrimental. The most important issue in my opinion is the unemployment rate because it affects all individuals in America. It was not very striking because it is something that is spoken about daily. However, more jobs need to be created so families will be able to spend and boost our economy. The least important issue is air travel because there are more passengers flying than in 2001. The security measures taken at the airports make air travel not very important. Most Americans have overcome any fear they may have had and continue to fly on airplanes.
ReplyDeleteThe two striking changes to our economy since 9/11 is the gas prices along with the high unemployment rates. Unemployment is most important and should be reversed since even if prices of gas goes down, along with the already low prices of housing, they need a source of income to be able to support themselves. In August of 2001, there was a low of 4.9% of unemployment rate. At the end of the year (2001) the unemployment had went up quickly to 5.7% due to people not wanting to travel anywhere from the cause of 9/11, fearing of attacks, which led to unemployment of many because of the surplus of workers there was. As of August 2011 the unemployment rate is even higher at 9.1%. The prices of oil should be reversed. As of September 10, 2001 the weekly average was at a low $1.53 per gallon/ $27.66 per barrel. A few days after 9/11 on the 14th of September, the price of oil had increased by 7% per barrel to $29.59, and went up another 18% when we went to war with Iraq to $37.87 per barrel. As of September 1, 2011 we are at a high of $3.65 per gallon/$88.93 per barrel. From 2001 to 2011 the price of oil barrels have increased by three times the amount within 10 year. The least important is the price of gold because the prices of gold will always fluctuate. Price of gold is important to mostly people who are in need of selling it for money to be able to pay off for there needs.
ReplyDeleteThe most striking changes, in my opinion, would probably be the debt deficit and the increase in oil prices. Zoey and Feyaad already mentioned the amount of debt increasing from $128 billion to 1.3 trillion but the fact of the matter is that before 9/11 the Congressional Budget Office predicted “The outlook for the federal budget over the next decade continues to be bright". Oil prices are "driven by global demand, the stability of producing nations and the whims of speculators". After 9/11, we received less barrels of oil from the middle east making the price sky rocket. Instead of each barrel costing $30 in 2004 each barrel increased to $150. I do feel the deficit needs to be reversed. We need something to stimulate our economy to put it back on track. Ideas might be to cut income Corporate tax rate by 5% to encourage spending (this was my debate bill yesterday!) or cut unemployment benefits and create job training programs to create a viable workforce.
ReplyDeleteI found the graph interesting on unemployment:
http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/September_11_economy/4.html#top
In 2006 and 2007 the unemployment rate was the same in 2001 but the rate then skyrocketed through 2009-2011.
Feyaad: In 2001, there were 510,000 airline employees. In 2011, only 380,000 employees. I will assume the price dropped due to some airlines going out of business.
But I do agree with Feyaad that the air travel is the least important. The same amount of people flew, 63.8 million, in August of 2001 and May of 2011.
Since 9/11, the two most striking changes to the economy have been the rise in gas prices and the rise in unemployment rates. In 2001 the average price for a gallon of gas was only $1.51, but ten years later in 2011, the average price has reached $3.67 per gallon. This is forcing citizens to cut back on travels, meaning that many will not drive long distances for vacations and other activities anymore. They also have been forced to cut back on other aspects of their lives to accommodate for the increase in their gas expenses. The trend that most desperately needs to be reversed is the unemployment rate. This rate is continuing to rise because as companies loose more an more money, they are forced to make cuts. This year, for example, as we discussed in class, Bank of America has laid off about 3000 of its workers in an attempt to pay off some of its expenses. Another aspect of the economy that has been affected is tourism, however, this is the least important problem. Obviously right after the 9/11 attack, New York experienced a drop in tourism, but this drop was slight, and within the next few years, the state gained back its tourism, and now its tourism rates are approximately what they were prior to the attacks.
ReplyDeleteSince 9/11, the two most striking changes in our economy are the federal deficit and the oil/gas prices. The gap between the $128 billion budget surplus in 2001 and $1.3 trillion budget deficit in 2011 is self explanatory. The deficit directly affects the amount of debt we have, therefore reassuring the need for this to be reversed. The oil and gas prices ridiculously tripled since 9/11 from $1.53 per gallon to $3.65 per gallon. The rise affects our purchasing power for other things because dependence on gas for transportation has only gone higher. Gas prices limits how much we can spend. Until we start spending more, how will our economy heal? The deficit, as explained previously, most importantly plans out our future and what sacrifices we must make in order to reduce the debt. Air travel seems to be the least important because although affected, tourism can be granted in several other manners (even if gas prices are high.) If travelers need to be in a place that's far away, I'm guessing that they'll consider air travel as their first priority anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe two most striking changes to the economy since 9/11 is definitely the rise in the price for gas and the unemployment rate being so high, like many people have already said. These are two very serious issues and although it is essential for both to be reversed, it is my belief that the more pressing issue is the unemployment rates that are still rising ten years later after the attacks. Reversing the high unemployment rates will help more than lowering gas prices. Without a job you cant afford gas anyhow. The way I see it, people need jobs more than they need the ability to travel. Tourism in New York dropped slightly after the attacks, which was an issue, but they recovered and with the installation of the memorials tourism will be at an all time high, which is why this is the least important issue.
ReplyDeleteSince 9/11 the two most stricking changes in my opinion have been the unemployment rate and the federal deficit. Before 9/11, we had a surplus of 128 billion. Over the next decade we would spend trillions of dollars towards wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, also spent billions of dolars on relief programs and stimulus packages. Eventually this lead us to the $1.3 trillion budget deficit. The items i feel need to be reversed are the unemployment rate and the gas/oil prices. At the beginning of 2001 the unemplyoment rate was 4.9%. Over 600,000 jobs were lost after 9/11 and this included jobs in travel, tourism, and businesses in the World trade center. Over the next decade, the great Recession put us at a 9.1% unemployment rate. Gas and oil prices are also a major issue. Gas is something that we are forced to buy, whether we want to or not. You can always take the bus, but we know that the majority of people are not going to drastically change their way of transportation. Before 9/11, gas prices were $1.53 per gallon. Over the years it has fluctuated as high as $4 and now we are at a steady high price of $3.65. The item most important is unemployment because people need jobs to make money to buy things and stimulate our economy or else it will remain the way it is and we will stay in a recession. the least important is gold. it is not something we absolutely need in our economy. And we dont need to focus on turning it around. Some investors might rely on it if everything else is weak, but it should not be held our first priority.
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