The Economic Shock of September 11
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What students do
- Trace federal disaster aid from the Stafford Act declaration through the four channels that carried it
- Explain how the airline cap rule tied compensation to capacity share rather than stated losses
- Compare committed funds against funds actually disbursed
- Verify the reported aid totals using the GAO's own audit figures
What it covers
- The Stafford Act declaration that starts federal disaster funding
- The four channels and four purposes of federal aid after September 11
- Why committed money isn't the same as money that reached someone
Learning targets
- Explain the rule that lets federal disaster aid begin.
- Name the four channels that carried most federal aid.
- Sort federal disaster aid into its four main purposes.
- Explain how a cap rule limited airline payments.
- Check whether the reported aid totals add up.
From one teacher to another
A dollar that Congress designates for disaster relief and a dollar that actually lands in someone's account aren't the same dollar, and my economics students spend this whole lesson learning to tell them apart. They map how a Stafford Act declaration opens the spigot, follow the money across four separate channels, and then hold the final total up against what the GAO's audit actually confirmed got spent. I keep policy opinions out of it entirely; the point is reading the mechanism, not arguing about it.
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