The 9/11 attacks killed some 3,000 people and inflicted on the U.S. economy a loss of between $50 billion and $100 billion, but the repercussions in the long term would prove to be far more damaging and much, much more expensive.
Speaking at a forum organized by the Aspen Institute in August, Zoe Baird Budinger said America’s economic decline, sinking stature in the international community, and a woefully unproductive Congress are all fallouts of 9/11 and the country’s reaction to the attacks.
