The devastation of Hurricane Sandy is likely to create big distortions – though not lasting effects – in a wide range of U.S. economic measures.
If past major storms and forecasts by economists are a guide, look for industrial production to have taken a dip in October as factories from the Carolinas to New England suspended activity and for housing starts to slow as builders postpone new construction. Retail sales may take a hit but are likely to benefit in November and December, when people buy the supplies they need to rebuild. There could be downward pressure on November employment should some of the employers affected (Atlantic City casinos, for example) be unable to get back to full speed quickly.
The Labor Department’s report on October jobs numbers scheduled for Friday, the last U.S. unemployment report before the election, should be unaffected by the storm because it is based on surveys taken earlier in the month.
Economic activity will slow some in the next couple of weeks because many businesses across the Northeast are shut down. Some will take days to reopen. During the next couple of quarters, there will be an almost perverse boost in overall economic activity, as efforts to clear damage and rebuild houses and businesses add to the gross domestic product.
So far, there are no reliable estimates of the financial damage wrought by the storm, but one pre-storm estimate of $88 billion would imply that rebuilding efforts would add about two-tenths of a percentage point to GDP growth. Although economists generally use GDP as a rough proxy for the overall change in human welfare, this is an area where it fails miserably.
The storm depleted some of the nation’s “capital stock” – houses, stores, and bridges and other infrastructure were destroyed. The country is, in effect, poorer by whatever amount the damage comes to. But the urgent need to rebuild will create jobs and spur economic activity, with the bill paid by insurers and governments.
When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005, the devastation’s effect on national economic indicators was significant but short-lived. At the time, the U.S. economy was adding nearly 200,000 jobs a month, but that number fell to 66,000 in September 2005 and 80,000 in October 2005. The figure rebounded that November: 334,000 positions were added. (A look at state jobs numbers confirms that the yo-yo effect was driven by employment changes in Louisiana and other hurricane-affected gulf states).
But the economic repercussions from Katrina – in which nearly 2,000 people lost their lives and thousands were left homeless – were fairly unique to those circumstances and can’t easily be used as a precedent for measuring the impact of Sandy . The physical damage to New Orleans and other Gulf Coast areas forced thousands of residents to relocate. Katrina also disrupted oil drilling and refining at a key transport node, causing a spike in gasoline prices nationally.
Read more at THE WASHINGTON POST.
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
A message from Moishela
A handicapped child
Chof Daled Av 5771
Aug 23 11
To all my American Landsmen
Hello out there all of my American “landsmen!” Are you awake? Are you groggy from your sleep? Can I speak to you about serious things, or are you still sleeping deeply in your pajamas peacefully curled up under the cover not wanting to hear a thing? But I will scream in your ears and wake you up and force you to listen!
You just had an earthquake over a huge area of the U.S.A. including Washington DC, New York City, Lakewood, Toronto, Chicago, Cleveland. Do you believe it? Have you ever heard of such a thing since the beginning of this century and before? What do you think it’s about? Are you going to say, “Oh, well there is a fault here so it could happen. Lets go back to sleep. Nothing really happened. Only some people got slightly injured and frightened but nothing happened. Good night we can go back to sleep.”?
Fools, fools, you are going in the direction of oblivion, Chas Vesholom. Fools, don’t you see that Hashem is warning you? Boruch Hashem there were only slight injuries but it’s a warning. It’s a kindness to you, a warning that things are going to be much more difficult. Don’t you see that the world has changed and that your precious United States has become a dictatorship? Don’t you see that you are in danger?
Fools! Hashem wants you to break away from the Egel HaZahav, from the false Yiddishkeit that you have created to serve your own needs, your own wants, your own lusts, not paying any attention to Ratzon Hashem. You’ve built a lie, my dear Frum, so-called Frum fellow Jews and now Hashem refuses to let you continue, because if you continue in that direction you will ruin all of creation, Chas Vesholom, and that cannot be.
No matter how much money you have or how much power you think you have, Hashem is Hakol Yochol, Hakol Yochol do you hear? Not you, “Moishe Groiss” you are not Hakol Yochol. Hashem is Hakol Yochol!!! And He is going to destroy you if you don’t come back to Him. If you don’t go on the right path you Chas VeSholom could destroy creation and that can’t be. That can’t be. So I suggest my dear “Landsman” that you pick yourselves up throw out all the garbage that you collected, all the electronic toys, all the
restaurants that you visit, all the gluttony, all of the lack of Kedusha, all of the terrible, terrible lapses in Taharas HaMishpocha, all the Loshon Horah all the Machlokes. Get rid of it all and come back to Hashem. This strong earthquake that shook up so much of Frum America is only a tickle and after that will come the really difficult times. And then don’t say, “But I did not know,” because it will be unacceptable.
Q: How can a person destroy all of creation?
A: First of all we are not talking about one person. We are talking about a group of Yidden that are supposed to be the closest to HaKodosh Boruch Hu but they are pulling most of Yiddishkeit into a totally different direction .It is a direction that is totally against Hashems Ratzon. If the Erev Rav and Amalek would Chas Vesholom continue the way they are going without being stopped, then Hashem would have to destroy all of creation Chas Vesholom. Hashem loves us and He will save every true Yid who stood at Har Sinai and in the end does Teshuva.
Q: Why do you consider an earthquake a message? It’s like thundering and lightening that happens all the time. It’s part of the creation.
A: The difference is that nobody in the last generation has heard of such a large earthquake in any of these areas. It is not known as an earthquake area, even though some of the area is on a fault. There are not usually earthquakes there. Therefore Hashem has put an earthquake where most of the Frum Yidden live, and He has made it very clear that it is an unusual event, a very unusual event. And if we Jews forget that we are taught that everything that happens in the world is about us, telling us that we have to do Teshuva, then we have lost it.
Q: Children like you have been talking to us for years (about 17 years).What’s this message different than messages about all the other things that have happened?
A: What is different is that now we can see with our bare eyes, with our human eyes that the world has changed 180 degrees in only a few years. When we used to say this before, maybe it was hard for some people to digest, for most people to digest, but now only a fool can’t see what’s happening. The world is being run by a bunch of mafias, by a bunch of godfathers so to speak, a bunch of crazy ruthless people that are trying to turn the world into a
chaotic mess. And all of the world is afraid of them and doing their bidding, but Hashem will not allow it. And everything is written in the Nevuos,
and if you have half a brain go and learn and you’ll see that everything that’s happening now has been written, so that when we come to this point in history we will realize that we are in the midst of the birth of the Geulah and we must get through this most difficult time, the time of the birth itself. In order to be saved we must return to HaKodosh Boruch Hu with all our hearts and souls, with everything that’s ours, ready to give up everything Gashmiyusdik to get close to Him and to do His will.
Q: If you say that this earthquake is so impressive, shouldn’t we look at ourselves as great Tzaddikim because nobody was killed, and obviously Hashem is looking at us as Frum Yidden and Hashem is protecting us?
A: Just the opposite. This is the kindness of HaKodosh Boruch Hu that He is giving us a warning that makes fear but doesn’t kill. He is trying to be good to the Yidden, to be gentle with them. But there will be an end to His patience (Kaveyochel).
*****
I just want to beg Klal Yisroel. Save yourselves! Save yourselves! I am not going to go into all the things that you must do, but one thing I will tell you Kedusha, Kedusha! You have lost your Kedusha, Am Yisroel in America and in Europe. Once you where so pristine, so Kodosh, but now you have become stained and dirty like the Goyim.
Many homes do not keep Taharas HaMishpocha as it should be. Many terrible Aveiros are happening because of the Pritzus of the men and the women. Heterim by Rabbonim are given out like lollypops. And people have no qualms about watching films, videos, etc. The time that’s wasted in stupid entertainment is immeasurable and your Jewish souls have become hard as rocks, have become hard like the Goyim.
In Mitzrayim twenty percent, at the most, of the Yidden left Mitzrayim. Even though all Yidden were considered Frum keeping their language, their dress and their names. However like in Mitzrayim this is not enough. Besides the twenty percent that left, the rest of the Jewish population in Mitzrayim still worshipped the Egyptian gods and that’s what you are doing my dear American Landman.Today we Frum keep more or less our Jewish look our language and give Jewish names However you are worshipping the modern western American gods and if you don’t get rid of them, they will prevent you from reaching the Geulah, Chas Vesholom.
(www.Dani18.com)
In October of 2012 the east side of the United states (including the states of NY, NJ & CT etc…) was hit by Hurricane Sandy. With millions of people losing power & $88 billion dollars worth of damage & may people gripping in fear to see what will happen at the end. Everyone is asking why such a shaking hurricane would be sent by Hashem? The message from Hashem is Obvious, within the past 2 years alone,
1)over 100 Gedolei Hador & rabbonim were
niftar & left this world Rachmana L’tzlan.
2)many innocent children were niftar (in
strange & young ages)
3) the economy getting closer & closer to
crashing & the USA collapsing.
4)many other tragic events….
When so many tragedies happen & klal yisroel as a nation doesn’t take the wake-up call to change their ways towards teshuva, then sometimes Hashem has to send the wake-up call through catastrophic & shaking hurricanes & tsunami’s.
may we all start to do teshuva ASAP before things get worse C”V
I would never have thought I would ever even take this sort of message as anything more serious than paranoid drivel. But this is time.
The first two comments are 100% right on. I haven’t made a weekday minyan in maybe a year – or more?
I’m going this week from here on out.
# 1 & 2 thanks and well said !
Dear Matzav editor, I’m so happy that your site is back on track, perhaps you can post comments from #1 & 2 on the main page of Matzav so many of our brothers and sisters can be re-directed to the ways of hashem? it’s important that we have the proper chance to correct our ways and our haskofah after suffering this harst storm
thanks in advance
love to read your site
what’s the answer to post # 4 ?