It’s about that time again, the annual anniversary of the attacks on the Twin Towers & the Pentagon. As part of their coverage, the New York Times has an interactive visualization of the many aspects of the financial impact, showing data varying from physical damage to war funding and homeland security budgets.
Al Qaeda spent roughly half a million dollars to destroy the World Trade Center and cripple the Pentagon. What has been the cost to the United States? In a survey of estimates by The New York Times, the answer is $3.3 trillion, or about $7 million for every dollar Al Qaeda spent planning and executing the attacks. While not all of the costs have been borne by the government — and some are still to come — this total equals one-fifth of the current national debt. All figures are shown in today’s dollars.
via One 9/11 Tally: $3.3 Trillion – Interactive Feature – NYTimes.com.
