Researchers at  Mount Sinai Medical Center found that dust and toxic particles in the air at ground zero are responsible for the lung conditions of thousands of responders at the WTC. In fact, 7 out of 10 worker have been found to develop some lung condition, including asthma, enthasema, and lung cancer. This study comes after claims from workers, claiming to have developed health issues they never had before working at ground zero, were denied benefits by NYC. Bloomberg when asked about this, said simply(not in these exact words), that you cannot give thousands of people benefits, based on claims.

With the claims now confirmed, the question comes in, who is going to pay the benefits. The claims are the responsibility of NYC, but should all this really be laid on the cities plate? After all, this was an "attack on america".

In my mind, as well as the mind of many city officials and residents, the bill should at least, in part, be picked up by the federal government. There are two reasons I believe this. First, there is the fact, as I already stated, that this was an attack on america. The federal government(particularly the Bush administration), loves to say this. And as I have said before, if this was an attack on america, NY should not be the only ones paying. And second, these claims could literally bankrupt the city. When you consider all the money the city shells out each year, and that all the taxes are barely enough to cover it, and many years have not been enough, where is this money suppose to come from? Are we going to take it out of the fire fighters and cops salary next contract? Or the teacher or sanitation workers? Is it going to come from the budgets of the fire department, police department, transportation department, port security, airport security? What about the schools, or parks, whatever? Pure and simply, the city does not have the money to pay out all the claims. The federal government must step up to the plate.