I wonder if anything more positively impacts the economy than natural disasters.  For example: 
  1. Food.  People always rush out to buy milk and bread.  Wendy bought milk and bread before the hurricane, but only because we literally just ran out of milk and bread and needed a routine resupply.
  2. Supplies.  People always rush out to buy flashlights and batteries.  At this point in the history of mankind, you'd think everyone would have enough of those left over from the previous natural disaster.
  3. Safety.  Declaring a state of emergency and activing the National Guard just sound like expensive propositions.
  4. Cleanup.  Chainsaws and sump pumps aren't free, nor do emergency workers work pro bono.
  5. Rebuilding.  When stuff breaks, you have to fix it.  Somehow this transcends whether or not people can actually afford it.  If a tree falls on your house, you need a new roof.  If your basement is flooded, you need it unflooded.
And the government, with its FEMA and its states of emergency, is just asking for targets to throw money at.  If anything can fix the global economy, it's a global natural disaster. #money