THE NATION'S CITIZENS, who have lived their whole lives believing their homeland was immune to a scene of such horror, are paralyzed with fear. In the days and weeks that follow, the economic system that people had so comfortably put their faith in for generations begins to crumble to its own foundations:

• Producers of basic necessities take advantage of the situation to jack up their prices by as much as 1,000 percent, causing long lines and frayed tempers at gas stations and grocery stores in every city.
  
• Massive bank runs deplete scores of depository institutions of their liquid reserves, while the nation's banking system is unable to replenish the cash and credit needed to prevent hundreds of banks from failing within weeks.
  

Heeding government warnings of additional terror attacks, people hunker down in their homes, skipping work and keeping their children home from school; airlines exhaust their cash reserves and shut down; and the federal government, grappling with soaring budget deficits and inflation, looks on helplessly, unable to offer any type of relief package that would prevent hundreds of thousands of employees from losing their jobs.

In summary, the shocking events of a single day have caused a seemingly strong nation to begin a plunge toward depression.

Back to the top | Next >