Today, August 29, 2011, an attempt will be made to try to tally the cost of 9/11. That is probably going to be a difficult task, because although 9/11 was a one day event, its repercussions continue to this day. We already know the human cost in the number of human beings robbed of all, and some – their lives, their livelihoods, and their health. What about the economics?

New York Magazine provides some of the answers, mostly for New York:

• Jobs lost in New York owing to the attacks: 146,100
• Economic loss to New York in month following the attacks: $105 billion
• Estimated cost of cleanup: $600 million
• Total FEMA money spent on the emergency: $970 million
• Estimated amount of insurance paid worldwide related to 9/11: $40.2 billion
• Estimated amount of money needed to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $7.5 billion
• Amount of money recently granted by U.S. government to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $4.55 billion

CBS News.com gives the total estimated cost of the primarily military spending, and of course the ubiquitous “foreign aid,” up to 2009:

All told, CRS says, Congress has approved $864 billion for the overseas wars and other programs related to the battle against terrorism since Sept. 11, 2001. Such funding includes military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs and veterans' health care.

I am not against foreign aid. I have a slight problem with aid going to “friends and allies,” who take the money of US taxpayers, and turn around and assist those who wish to kill those same taxpayers.

Should I be brave and research spending/allocation up to 2011? I will take a timeout and ponder. OK, bravery – or stupidity, won out. Here goes. There is nothing yet that includes 2011, but there is something up to 2010, from this OLITICS">CNN  article. The numbers given are more in line with our current economic number crunching. You guessed it. We are talking trillions – one trillion – so far. But:

The costs associated with the "war on terrorism" could still go much higher.

No kidding. Those terrorists who like to hang out in caves like bats, culturally may still be living in a single digit century, but they have had a 21^st century effect on the US and world economy. They have forced the US to move up the monetary alphabet, from billions to trillions. What comes after a trillion? This is all very difficult for me to calculate as I am “Mathematically challenged.” Although, I do have two bills that go over my customary three digits. I have a thousand dollar bill and a million dollar bill, received as part of an ad to get me to buy/invest in a product. I did not invest or buy, but I keep those bills to remind me how to count.

Say it is not so. FoxNews.com tells a tale of waste:

The federal government has wasted more than $30 billion on contracts and grants in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new report set to be released Wednesday.

I can’t say that I fault the US government for being “opportunistic.” When a government has a mostly willing and mostly compliant populace, at least half of that populace, working as many jobs as possible, if they can find jobs, to earn a living and pay their “fair share” of taxes, that circumstance should be exploited. After all, the US is still standing. There is still a way to go before it either willingly does, or is forced to commit financial suicide. The terrorists who disrupted lives, livelihoods and commerce on 9/11, began the process of financial destruction. “Somebody” is finishing it. Maybe I am finally becoming a cynic, but I do not see much accidental going on with the decline of the US.

Here is a view from across the pond. This Guardian article, which is excerpted from an upcoming book by Jason Burke, gives a history of the human toll. This could be the epitaph of 9/11:

Some day the 9/11 wars will be remembered by another name. Most of the dead will not be remembered at all.

I am going to take comfort that:

Al-Qaida has failed to achieve most of its key aims: there has been no global uprising of Muslim populations, no establishment of a new caliphate. Nor have changes in America's policy in the Islamic world been those desired by men such as the late Osama bin Laden.

For me, it is about the liberty. But, it is also about the sartorial garb. I have grown rather fond of being able to look in my closet and wear what garments I desire to wear. The thought of being forced to wear a tent for a dress, with slits for my eyes, is already making me feel claustrophobic.  It is the clothing freedom, stupid! I don’t have to identify “stupid.” Everyone knows who qualifies.

Speaking as an ordinary American, my opinion of the financial/economic situation is that there is still hope for a turnaround, one in which we are not just left with the change in our pockets. This turnaround can occur, if we ever are blessed to once again have branches of government, staffed with citizens, who remember and adhere to that fact – that they are US citizens, and the country comes first.

Armed with that “armor” of patriotism, versus “party-ism,” armed with economic/financial sense and experience, mixed in with some commonsense, it could happen. I know that I am asking for much in expecting “public servants” who are politicians, to actually meet these criteria, especially in an atmosphere where the US Constitution is becoming incidental to reigning over the citizenry. As that saying goes, “hope springs eternal.” My well is not yet dry.

I deliberately chose this video of Battle Hymn of the Republic, with its images of the more tangible toll of treasure – no not the economics – the human toll. The eternal toll of men and women, many of them youngsters who cannot vote, cannot order alcohol, but are not too young to give their lives – that is the real price this country is paying. May God help us, although we keep using up our treasure.