Lynne Kiesling and Tyler Cowen properly rail against the inevitable hoary story that the destruction from all the hurricanes will be economically beneficial. As Lynne said, she was just wondering how long it would take for this story to pop up--and, presto, it did. Next, stories on the benefits of digging ditches and filling them back in.

As evidence of the great economic benefits from the hurricanes, take a look at these stories, noting that the hurricanes will likely cost BellSouth 4 cents a share on earnings, and that CenturyTel and Progress Energy (parent of Florida Power & Light) are revising earnings guidance because of storm damage.