Maybe, not a trillion dollars but the world stock markets were certainly up hundreds of billions overnight; all in reaction to the news that Osama bin Laden had finally been killed. The whole world breathed easier and markets rose! Futures are now predicting the Dow will be up 70 points within minutes of it's 9:30 AM opening.
But, that is minimum cost of bin Laden's evil. A few years ago, Nobel-prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz estimated the cost to America for the War on Terror at three trillion dollars. That amount would have been available to pay for improved medical care, or increased defense spending, or increased entitlement spending, or even increased tax cuts for rich taxpayers. The point is: that huge sum of money was wasted because of bin Laden and could have done so many good things!
Just as Reagan bankrupted the Soviet Union with an arms race, bin Laden has been bankrupting America with a War on Terror. And, it cost him very little to do so.
According to Wikipedia, "evil is the intention or effect of causing harm or destruction, usually specifically from the perception of deliberately violating some moral code." While bin Laden thought he was upholding his radical Islamist moral code, he happily violated the moral code of the world. He was evil. I am glad he is finally dead. My only regret is that his death was not as terrible as the deaths of his victims.
As usual, the market is over-reacting. The impact of bin Laden's death on the market today will be euphoric, but we can expect bin Laden's followers to stage another terrorist attack in the near future. When that happens, the market will again over-react but go down. For now, enjoy the emotion, enjoy watching the bulls run on Wall Street, and remember the world today is a less evil place than it was just yesterday.
