Another trend that makes the American economy seem weak after September 11th is a change in spending habits. Many economists attribute a change in retail spending to the aftermath of September 11th when really it mostly reflects an evolution in the retail industry. Over time the American consumer's needs have changed and so have the demographics. For instance, "women are the driving force behind retail purchases" (Six Months, 2002) as more of them are head household now. According to BIGresearch, "consumers say they have changed and become more practical and realistic when making a purchase and 52.2% of them say this change is long-term" (Six Months, 2002). In this respect, September 11th did have a direct influence on the American consumer in that their retail spending tastes changed. Because of the attacks and fear, Americans spent more time with their families in the months after the attacks. This resulted in an increase of spending in the entertainment retail industry. It is estimated "future purchase intentions remain strong for furniture, housing and vacation/travel with 18.2%, 7.6% and 28.5% planning purchases in the next six months" (Six Months, 2002). Still as discussed earlier, the average American consumer must make their dollar stretch further as a result of increased living expenses and this has meant "a desire to manage finances tighter with 45% consumers saying they plan to pay down debt, increase saving 37.9% and decrease overall spending 32.4%" (Six Months, 2002).

Conclusion

This paper explored the issue of the American economy after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Essentially, these attacks on American soil shattered an innocence that existed within the American population that we were untouchable. The attacks shattered the notion that nothing could touch us in our own country and set into a motion a series of events that would directly affect the health of the American economy. Many will argue that the American economy was already suffering through a recession. Many will argue that the September 11, 2001 attacks on America did not hurt the economy but...

This paper's main objective was to explore the multi-layers of this situation. First, this paper looked at exactly the health of the American economy prior to the attacks. Second, this paper examined how the attacks affected the American economy. This included looking at both the positive and negative aspects of the attacks' fallout. Is it possible that such a tragic, terrible event can be a positive? Is it possible that the resulting wars in Afghanistan and later Iraq have proven to be economic stimulus for the country's growth? This paper attempted to look at the many sides of this issue and examined how this event influences the country's economy today.
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