Anyone?
I was under the impression that September 11, 2001 taught us a number of lessons. One of them was the dangers associated with centralization.
The Terrorists hit the World Trade center exactly because of what it represented and the damage it would cause the Domestic and World Financial markets. I don’t think I need to rehash this…
So now we get a storm. Yes… a Big Storm. But, a storm similar to many across the U.S. over the recent years. In other words, as much as many in the press would like you to believe this is not “unprecedented” nor was it “impossible to predict”. Katrina was not impossible to predict. Charlotte, Andrew, Charlie, Jeanne, Opal, Camille, etc. were not impossible to predict. Tornado’s in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri are not impossible to predict. Forest Fires in New Mexico, California, Colorado are not impossible to predict. Earthquakes in California are not impossible to predict. Clearly the specifics are uncertain… but the events are inevitable.
Just because it is hitting the “Hub of Journalism” does not mean it has never happened before. (Well… it does to Journalists.)
And, while the damage is heavy, it is not on the level of 9/11. Yes, we have flooding… but what most “journalists” are omitting is that the tunnels in and out of New york were designed to flood. Yes we have fires, but most of the time fires associated with flooding is due to community gas lines not being shut down in time combined with electrical service also not being shut down in time. Do I need to explain what you get with natural gas and sparks? None of this is unpredictable. We, in this country, have a vast amount of knowledge and practise when it comes to recovering from natural disasters. You wouldn’t know this as of this typing.
So this brings me back to my original question…
Why are the Markets closed?
We were told that redundancy was built into the system so an event like 9/11 could never happen again.
What happened? Nothing? It is plain that there is no redundancy built into the system. Do you think the same Terrorist A-holes might be paying attention?
If the answer is that certain Brokerages could not get employees to work… then why are the rest of us paying for their failure to learn the lesson of 9/11? Should they consider relocation? Multiple trading desks in various cities?
Did the World Markets shut down? No… they did not. The “Best and the Brightest” were supposed to be on this…
I simply don’t understand.
Either certain banks still have far too much influence, or we have failed to learn our lesson in earnest and will be doomed to experiencing the opportunity to learn it again. Could be both.
makeaneffort 