9/11 echoes

We have now passed the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Little did Canadians realize that the event would continue to have an impact on their lives over the next decade.
It wasn’t the attack on the World Trade centre building that was going to cause damage. It was the attack on the world financial centre and North American innocence.
The first major change occurred at the border as both Canadian and U.S. agencies began insisting on having passport documents to pass across the border. Travel has become more difficult and locally we experienced the cancelling of buses between Fort Frances and Winnipeg.
The next major change that occurred was the stimulation of the economy, beginning in 2002 with the lowering of interest rates. The purpose was to prevent the economy from collapsing. In the U.S., it was patriotic to go shopping and spend money. Credit cards were maxed out. Savings were depleted.
Canadians also followed the example.
Because of low interest rates, North Americans rushed to build houses. Houses over the next five years doubled and tripled in price in U.S. cities and many Canadian cities. Many in the U.S. who bought those homes could ill afford them.
The bubble burst in 2007-08 when it became evident that consumers were beginning to default on those loans and that became the financial crisis of 2008.
Similarly, the North American “Big Three Automotive” manufacturers were selling vehicles and financing them to people who could not afford them.
“Baby Boomers” watched for a second time in less than eight years as their retirement savings disappeared.
Jobs disappeared overnight and unemployment ballooned.
Many banks in the U.S. failed. The answer was a major bailout of banks throughout the world. At the same time, governments in both the U.S. and Canada bailed out the automotive industry by borrowing money.
And to stimulate the economies of nations around the world, governments again began borrowing money to stimulate their economies and avoid a major recession.
Today, we are beginning to witness the collapse of national economies in Greece and other European nations. It is having a domino affect around the world as other nations are catching the ’flu and watching as consumers lose confidence in their governments and financial institutions.
The attack on the buildings was minor. The attack on the innocence of North Americans continues to play out and that attack has undermined our economic well-being and left the world in a poorer state.