To put Williams' point into some personal perspective, think about your car. It's out of warranty but still has lots of good years of use left in it. Then your transmission goes out and it will cost you $1000 to replace it. This means extra business for your mechanic, the parts supplier, and the entire support chain for those parts. Huzzah! The economy is better off all because your transmission went out! Isn't that wonderful? No, because you probably had other plans for the $1000. That family vacation you were planning doesn't happen and the businesses where you would have spent your money lose out. Or you don't buy a new computer or whatever. But you and the business you would have supported lose due to your "disaster."