Given the importance of capital deepening for the growth of structural productivity and for increases in our long-run standard of living, this slowdown in the growth of equipment investment also bears watching. The economic effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita I'd now like to turn to the economic effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
On the one hand, it is important to recognize that, besides causing enormous human tragedy, the hurricanes made the nation economically worse off. Not only did output fall as the result of the storms, but households lost their homes and possessions, businesses were damaged or destroyed, and key infrastructure was wiped out. Initial estimates of losses range anywhere from $ billion to $ billion.