Public Employee Press

2001-2011
How 9/11 changed our world

IN THE 10 YEARS since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, changes have touched virtually every American. Rebuilding is underway in Lower Manhattan, where more than 17 million square feet of space werre destroyed.

One World Trade Center has reached over 80 stories on its way to completion; and the memorial for the victims designed by Architect Michael Arad, when he was a member of Local 375, opened to the public on the 10th anniversary. But luxury buildings have proliferated, emblems in steel and glass of the gross economic inequality that has deepened over the decade to historic proportions.

The long-term damage to the local economy was less severe than many economists expected.

Nationally, the Obama administration provided stimulus money that prevented the deep recession from hurling the country into a depression. Two of the three major auto manufacturers were saved from bankruptcy and have emerged as strong players, though the United Auto Workers union agreed to major cutbacks to make this turnaround possible.

But the economy has hit a roadblock. The unemployment rate is 9.1 percent with 14 million people out of work. Three out of fi ve people living in poverty are between the ages of 18 and 64.

Initially, the terrorist attacks brought Americans together. But a fault line has developed, dividing political loyalties throughout the country. Conservative
Tea Party theories threaten government programs and challenge the Obama administration.

Goodwill and fellowship prevailed around the world in the wake of the attacks. But the United States now has a tarnished image abroad, a result of U.S. policies of torture and rendition, as well as the viral images of abuses at Abu Ghraib.

Within two weeks of the attacks on the United States, President George W. Bush and his administration went to war in Afghanistan and, later, in Iraq. Ten years later, the wars continue. The post-9/11 decade in included a global war against terrorism, and the national security apparatus has expanded its reach, threatening our civil liberties even as it defends us against terrorists.

The direct cost of the wars to taxpayers is already over $1 trillion. Pulitzer Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz estimates that the long-term cost will
total from $4 trillion to $6 trillion. As of Sept. 8, the total number of U.S. dead from the two wars was 6,227;
the number of U.S. wounded was 45,899.

The escalating costs of war, tax breaks for the rich, and the lack of an industrial policy are hollowing out the nation. Meanwhile, 1 percent of the people, including a number of DC 37 military reservists, continues to carry the burdens of war, with its casualties and pain.

The 2012 presidential election will help determine the direction of a deeply divided country.

—JL