[fhayek]

But there's a flip side. Wouldn't the clean up and rebuilding necessitated by the hurricane create jobs? There will be an awful lot of insurance and disaster relief money that will be 'pumped' into the economy. By October, these should really be showing up on the radar screen.

[AmericaUnited]

Agree. It's hard to predict whether the loss of economic activity from normal business will be greater or less than the huge amount generated by cleanup and rebuilding.

Of course if rebuilding "helps" the economic numbers, Kerry will claim that the Hurricane was an evil plot hatched by Bush, Cheney and Haliburton, etc., etc.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

an awful lot of insurance and disaster relief money that will be 'pumped' into the economy. By October, these should really be showing up on the radar screen.

The insurance money doesn't come out of a matress; it comes out of investment vehicles the insurance co will have to sell to raise the $$$.

Federal disaster relief, OTOH, is Keynsian stimulus of government spending. Could help some, at the price of subsequent inflation in the long run (defined as, "after the election").

[P-Marlowe]

Wouldn't the clean up and rebuilding necessitated by the hurricane create jobs?

Exactly. It was the Northridge earthquake that pulled California out of the deep recession caused by the collapse of the aerospace and defense industries.

Natural disasters are usually a boon to the local and state economies. The insurance companies take a hit, but it gets passed on over the next 30 years so it has little or no overall effect on the ecomony.

[Guillermo]

Ask anyone who has lived through a major hurricane what it did to the economy...

Andrew gave a huge boost to the Miami economy, and Hugo did the same for Charleston.

$15 billion will be pouring in. How can it NOT help?

[TwoSue]

Stuart Varney said the rebuilding economic benefits won't show up until the 4th quarter (Dec) not the 3rd (Sept).

[Doe Eyes]

But there's a flip side. Wouldn't the clean up and rebuilding necessitated by the hurricane create jobs?

So the Democrat's hurricane may backfire on them?