Calculating Catastrophe

Putting a Number on a Potential Attack. Risk Management Solutions has crunched the numbers on what a terrorist attack, using a two-ton truck bomb, would cost the US economy:

• Citigroup (NYC): $5.5 billion
• New York Stock Exchange: $4.1 billion
• International Monetary Fund (DC): $900 million
• World Bank (DC): $800 million
• Prudential Financial (Newark): $600 million

RMS, which makes a business out of worst case scenarios, also figure that igniting a gas or oil tank truck would cause heavy financial losses, but not as much as an Oklahoma City-style explosion.

The Mythical Recovery. Stagnate job growth and record deficits have renewed debate over the effectiveness of President Bush’s three consecutive tax cuts. Morgan Stanley’s top economist is calling this "The Mythical Recovery." (MSNBC)

Bush's Plan to Raise Your Taxes. President Bush calls a national sales tax "interesting." The president has suggested an overhaul of the federal tax system would be the centerpiece of his second term if reelected. The idea Republicans have been floating involves eliminating the income tax in favor of a national sales tax. That could mean a 20% or higher tax on everything you buy. Sales taxes are considered a "regressive" tax because the less you earn, the greater percentage of your income you have to pay in taxes. So low and middle-income folks would pick up the tax burden from richer people. (Reuters)

No More Floating Checks. A change in the law October 28 will mean the checks you write will clear within a day. And you no longer have a right to a canceled check from the bank to prove you paid.

Shell Game? The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights is taking Shell Oil to task for closing it’s Bakersfield refinery. Shell says it’s not economically viable to keep the refinery open. But internal documents suggest it’s the most profitable one in Shell’s inventory. Closing oil refineries usually leads to higher gasoline prices.

"They Closed the Lab Because of an Accounting Error." The atom bomb lab at Los Alamos was closed and scientists raked over the coals for a pair of missing Zip drives. Turns out, the discs may have never existed. NPR reports that a bean counter issued 11 bar code stickers to a scientist who only had nine Zip discs. So there were two unused bar codes. When the bean counters couldn’t find the unused bar codes on any discs, they assumed the scientists, not the accountants, made them mistake. Hey, it ain’t rocket science! (NPR)

Can You Tell Me How to SEE Sesame Street? USAID, the folks who dole out foreign aid, are spending $500,000 to develop a version of "Sesame Street" for kids in India. The version will be developed for kids who have no access to TV. If Big Bird falls in the forest and it’s not televised, will anyone see it?

Nelson Muntz is Waiting in the Hall. Rising food, labor, and transportation costs are forcing up school lunch prices. Some schools could raise prices by $1 a day. It promises to be a boon to bullies.

What You Can Expect With School Vouchers. A private school in California has been busted for teaching that there are 53 states and that there are two Houses of Congress – one for Republicans, one for Democrats.

Flip Flop. "And I deeply resent the destruction of federalism represented by Hillary Clinton's willingness to go into a state she doesn't even live in and pretend to represent people there. So I certainly wouldn't imitate it." -- Alan Keyes, back when Illinois-born Hillary Rodham Clinton announced she’d run for Senator from New York. Keyes announced this week he was moving from Maryland to Illinois to run for the Senate.