New York City has spent $1 billion on antiterrorism efforts since the Sept. 11 attacks. But the city says it has yet to receive a dollar of antiterrorism money from the federal government. Washington has provided millions to help clean up the damage. But an estimated $44 million in antiterrorism money now in the pipeline has apparently not reached New York, the city that bore the brunt of the most disastrous terrorism strike in American history. What is worse is the way Tom Ridge at the Department of Homeland Security has been distributing the latest round of antiterrorism money. The original allotment was based on a formula that gave each state 0.75 percent, with the rest divided among the states according to their populations. Missing was any calculation of how vulnerable a city or state is to terrorism. It is a flawed formula, which seems to focus less on places directly threatened by terrorism than on areas that are of importance in next year’s election. City officials figure that compared with New York City’s $44 million, North Carolina will get $51 million, Ohio $64 million and Florida over $86 million. On a per capita basis, the latest allocation gives New York State residents about $3 per person, while Iowa gets $6 and Wyoming $22. Certainly these states need resources to combat terrorism, but it is hard to argue that they stand as high as New York, Washington or Los Angeles on Al Qaeda’s potential hit list. Full Story
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