N001535
Saturday, January 12, 2002 9:25 AM
Comments on Interim Final Report
I am preparing this submission from the perspective of a Canadian father who
lost both his daughter and his son-in-law in the September 11th attack on
the World Trade Center. As such, I have no elected representative to carry
my message to Congress or to the upper echelons of American public
administration.
At the outset I must state that I have been moved and gratified by the
outpouring of support received from a number of institutions in the United
States and from many citizens. As my Prime Minister stated shortly after
the attack, I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States in its fight
to rid the world of this pestilence called terrorism. That said, I find it
ironic that the United States Government, through the administration of the
September 11th Victim's Compensation Fund, has chosen to treat the families
of victims in such a ungenerous and dismissive fashion.
I find unacceptable aspects in both areas of the Special Master's rules of
application.
Economic Losses
First, it has been argued that the awards work against those of higher
incomes, limiting economic losses of those in the 98th percentile and above.
This is a valid point, for I would suggest that those earning above
$225,000 per year were substantially more than 2% of the workers of the
World Trade Center.
However, the projection of economic losses is also stacked against workers
at the lower end. The idea of basing earnings on the average of the years
1998 to 2000, and then deducting insurance payments based on salaries earned
in 2001 seems particularly unfair. In my daughter's case, she began her
current employment in 1999. Thus, if one included the few thousand dollars
she earned as the "Token Canadian" working for four months at the United
Nations in 1998, her projected lifetime earnings are in the $400,000 range.
In fact, since she was hired to work at the World Trade Center, she has
received several promotions and had seen here salary increase by over 15%
per year. Thus, the $400,000 of projected earnings over the next 30-plus
years in closer to what she would have earned over the next four or five
years. I would submit that such progress by young professional workers in
the World Trade Center is more the rule that the exception.
Non-Economic Losses
I must take issue, as well, with the non-economic losses. In my personal
case, my loss has been totally non-economic, for I have lost an
irreplaceable child. To suggest that this is worth $250,000 is an insult.
Again from a Canadian perspective, the excesses of the American economic
system sometimes shock us. Both the salaries and legal awards often seem to
be totally unrealistic. Yet, this is the "American Way." This is the
system that has served your country well, and which has helped make it the
world's leading economic power. It seems inconceivable that following the
most nefarious attack on your civilian population in your entire history,
the Government of the United States of America should chose to abandon this
system, and to treat the victims of this attack so callously.
In conclusion, I seek closure to this terrible episode in my life. I wish
to avoid a decade long court battle which I might not live long enough to
see to its conclusion. I would be willing to accept a reasonable offer that
does this. Yet, from what I have seen to date, it would appear that I am
left little choice to if I wish to receive fair compensation for my loss.
The offsets of insurance would appear to reduce my projected compensation to
zero.
I thus this find the comments by Mr. Feinberg, which suggests that victim's
families will receive from $500,000 to $3,000,000 (and an average of
$1,600,000) to be appalling and blatantly misleading. Such statements
would seem to me a deliberate campaign of misinformation aimed at providing
an atmosphere to allow the United States Government to low-ball the families
of victims, while capitalizing on the sympathy that the American population
wishes to direct towards them. From the country, which has led the world in
its compassion and generosity for so many years, I would have expected
better.
Individual Comment