By George H. Tsai
Are New Yorkers still reeling from the aftermath of the World Trade Center terror attack two years ago? Yes, to varying degrees.
Family members and friends of those dead in the tragedy doubtless still grieve over their losses. A great number of people who have worked and lived near that area are recovering slowly from its psychological effects. My daughter, whose apartment is close to the Twin Towers, is one of them. She is still nervous about flying.
In two weeks, it will be the second anniversary of the tragedy. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said recently that the worst was over, yet the tragic event still has a lingering impact on both businesses and job market in the city. Some businesses in the WTC area have disappeared forever.
The jobless rate has hit nine-year highs in the nation; it may be much higher in the city. Some local college graduates with a major in computer science were unable to land jobs in their field. Still want to take up computer for study? Think it again.
As far as I know, a couple of graduates in computer science have no choice but to take low-paying labor work. A number of high-tech corporations, big or small, have cut their payrolls in half. Supply apparently exceeds demand, at least for now.
The result? The city has lost billions of dollars in tax revenue. That has, in turn, caused enormous city budget shortfall, service cuts, as well as sharp property tax rise and mass-transit fare increases.
Recyclable garbage collection has already been cut from once a week to once every other week. It's way too early to say that city sanitation officials won't cut other services if the economy gets sicker.
The parking violation fine has increased more than 100 percent – from $50 to $105, partly because of the deficit. It could be the highest in the nation.
So the city's financial woes have affected every household in the five boroughs.
Some people blame Bloomberg for those ridiculous increases and cuts. The criticism is unjustified. I think the ailing economy, terror attacks and corporate scandals were the culprits. Those scandals alone cost New York City $13 billion, according to the Washington Post.
Two years later, the public still doesn't know who should be held responsible for ignoring warnings on the attacks. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are scrutinizing a belated, 900-page Congressional report. The probe shows the tragedy could have been prevented.
Rumors are rife that terrorists are planning to hijack planes again to strike vital American targets. Rumors or not, I am sure our security personnel are well prepared for any situation.
On the other hand, thousands of crooks took advantage of the tragedy to enrich themselves. I am gratified to hear of reports that many of them have been arrested on charges that they have cheated the city and state governments out of millions of dollars with false claims. Those people should be prosecuted and readily given severe punishment, if convicted.
In a related matter, for the sake of public health, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has perhaps lost millions of dollars to some dishonest business people who sell purifiers, vacuums and air conditioners under the disaster program protecting people in the city from breathing the dust as a result of the WTC collapse.
The FEMA program has enabled thousands of families in the Big Apple to get these items with a maximum assistance of $1,500 for each household.
Knowing the nature of the program, some shrewd merchants inflated the prices of these items. For instance, some stores charged $499 for an air-conditioner, which is readily available at half of that price, or even less, in the market. That's a rip-off, isn’t it?
Here's the deal: Applicants were required to fill out a form for the merchandise and pay up to $1,500 upfront to the storeowner, who then mails the application, along with the purchase receipt, to a state agency for approval for FEMA reimbursements.
After that, the buyers had two options – either taking home the items they chose right away or leaving them in the store so that they could cancel the deal and get money back in case their applications were rejected. If applicants made the first choice, they had to keep the merchandise regardless of the FEMA decision. Few applications had been turned down.
For a program involving so much money, the agency should have contracted a reputable manufacturer to offer these products and deliver them to the qualified applicants. By doing so, the government could have saved a lot of dough.
