Budget Office Says Storm Could Cost Economy 400,000 Jobs

[sabra]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/national/nationalspecial/06cnd-deficit.html?hp&ex=1126152000&en=34446f156745f7aa&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Budget Office Says Storm Could Cost Economy 400,000 Jobs

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 - Hurricane Katrina is about to blow a hole in the federal budget, and it is already jeopardizing President Bush's agenda for cutting taxes and reducing the deficit.

The Congressional Budget Office reported today that it had told congressional leaders that Hurricane Katrina could reduce employment this year by 400,000 jobs and could slow the economy's expansion by as much as a full percentage point. As a nonpartisan advisor to Congress, the office had previously predicted that the economy would grow by 3.7 percent in 2005 and by 3.4 percent in 2004. The budget office's report came in a nine-page memo delivered Tuesday to Sen. Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee and the majority leader.

Also on Tuesday, administration officials told Republican lawmakers that relief efforts were running close to $700 million a day, and that the total federal cost could reach as high as $100 billion.

That would be many times the cost of any other natural disaster or even the $21 billion that was allocated for New York City after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

[GainesT1958]

1. I've heard realistic-sourced predictions..

Of half a million jobs lost.

Due in large part, of course, to the abject failure of the Federal response.:mad:

As much as the suffering reported thusfar has driven it home, wait until--if indeed they are allowed to reveal it--the body count begins to come in. So much for the argument that we are "safer at home"!:grr:

Their pathetic, devious spin maching won't stand up this time--not to the truth!

B-)

[democrat_patriot]

2. Cool. The rethiugs have a new excuse. Due to Katrina....

everything is God's fault.

[bluestateguy]

3. That's about how many jobs have been created since Bush took office

Well, I guess Bush will have to start over again.

[Lindsay]

4. D'ya suppose this is from one of Bush's people in the CBO

or an actual professional?

The fishing/shrimping industry has got to be totally wiped out, not to mention tourism along the coast in all three states. Pretty much every damned job in New Orleans is gone for the foreseeable future; the NOLA police, I heard last night on the teevee, are worried about layoffs because there will be nobody left to police.

And who knows what the master manipulators in the oil industry are going to do?

I'm no economist (heck, I struggled with long division), but I have a feeling we're in for a lot worse than the government is willing to let on. They're just gonna keep on with their own looting until things become obvious to everybody.

Just MHO.


On edit: I didn't struggle with spelling, but you'd never know it now.

[Demeter]

5. Good Thing They Get To Start With Phony Numbers

it won't look as bad as if they started with 12 million unemployed compared to 5 million officially stated.