“Lo, all our pomp of yesterday, Is one with Nineveh and Tyre” wrote Kipling in his 1897 “Recessional.” Clearly, thank goodness, this is not true of the United States following Tuesday’s terrorist outrage. But is it true of America’s cities?

The current mantra among economists, generally of the optimistic persuasion, is that the U.S. economy will continue growing because consumer spending is strong and that consumer spending will hold up because of the strong housing market, fueled by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s seven interest rate cuts since January.

The Panics of 1893 and 1907 were succeeded by the slump of 1920-21, which was succeeded by the Depression of 1929-32, which was eventually succeeded by the recessions of 1957-58 and later.