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Former NYSE CEO Dick Grasso on why it was so important to get the stock exchange up and running as soon as possible after 9/11.
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To the guy who got our markets up and running only days.
After those attacks and refused to say can't.
No impossible.
Former new York stock -- -- chairman Richard Grasso.
Richard good to see you know it's always very special to be with you on this solemn day in and let us pause for a moment.
And remember those 343.
New York City firefighters.
23 new York city police officers.
37 Port Authority police officers who -- as you stated.
Ran up the stairs.
So 35.
To 40000 people could run down the stairs and be saved that day.
We -- them so much and we -- them.
The responsibility.
Making this a better country because of their sacrifice.
You think about what was going on beyond just -- ripped it.
Loss of life.
American capitalism was targeted.
-- with a guy in charge of trying to bring it back.
You know a lot of help if you've always magnanimous and told me that year and every year since.
A lot of folks are telling you tick cool it on opening up even on the seventeenth six days later we're not ready.
We're not -- why did you say we gotta do this.
The resumption of trading.
In all of -- markets.
Was any signal a sign.
The terrorists had.
Killed thousands of people destroyed billions.
In property.
But when that bell rang on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday the seventeenth of September it basically said to them.
You fail.
-- -- -- -- The American way of life.
Has overcome once again the most immediate visas you'd -- and there was he -- that we do you have a battering and -- was.
But you still said it was important up -- down doesn't he -- just that you were often -- that was up and running the pulse of America's economic engine.
Had restarted.
And we -- going to build from there and remember -- we were down 6% that day.
Significant.
But less than a third of what I experienced on the nineteenth of October -- 1987 very good point don't.
We were we were a single.
Unified industry.
Never before and probably never since has there been.
True blood sport competitors.
Taking off their Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley jerseys and saying you know want.
-- role American.
Like you -- I don't know the Swiss Coach at the time I don't know that's a right phrasing but I do remember there -- a lot of folks who were saying -- to the Internet bubble was bursting.
And of recession was just taking -- whole.
This was sort of going to be the knockout blow an -- -- the -- at the time signal I don't buy that.
And not and you weren't looking at the same charts I was looking -- you are looking at the same stock prices I was looking.
So I -- at that time either did Dick Grasso is smoking something or quite frankly he is stepping back and -- something on this.
What was well let me first say for the record Dick Grasso was not smoking -- Okay I drink drink some perhaps perhaps.
But you -- zero -- in my could live up in my career Neil I experienced that Dallek 574.
And I experienced -- down at thirteen thousand.
The one thing that is so special about this country.
-- the free market process the allocation of capital to build industries.
Companies create if you will higher standards of living.
That -- comes.
From what happens at eleven Wall Street.
And -- eleven Wall Street stops.
You have to move heaven and earth to restart -- we had tens of thousands of people from Con Ed from Verizon.
From the industry doesn't I don't know all under water down the -- I -- -- breaks -- -- what we had water main you were advised to delay it because maybe it would.
Time would kinda -- potential selling wounds.
And we could move on you opted not to and I've always -- and he touched on it.
Wouldn't that additional wiser course -- no no because the longer.
You stay closed.
Perhaps the -- -- the bubble and the greater the market reaction when you ring that bell to open so you have to balance that that listen.
The morning of the twelfth I could have opened.
There was no damage to the stock exchange.
Horrific damage to the firms around us to the telecommunications.
Data processing capabilities but there was no physical damage to New York Stock Exchange.
That -- -- -- primary goal.
Wednesday Thursday and Friday.
Was search and hopefully rescue.
What we had originally believed to be.
Hundreds behind our hands of people okay it dwindled and dwindled you know by Friday.
I have to tell you the morale was kind of -- -- -- call and then fortunately the president came here.
Gave that stirring speech with that firemen under his arm and that born why can't we had an antidote about why can't we get that custom -- -- spirit.
For problems that by comparison kinda not to didn't and its miners up by comparison it's -- So what we were facing life and -- at the time.
Why can't we get that same -- back I think you put your finger on partisan.
Ship over patriotism.
And we have got to in this country come to a point the American people have got to say to the people who we send to Washington.
Knock it off.
You know you're an American first you're a Democrat you're -- Republican second this country needs you to act in a patriotic.
Not a partisan way.
To -- and -- revenue before all this happened pleasure when that happened.
And many years since thank you spanking -- of god bless all of those people we lost.
God bless our troops and I remember one -- Dick -- says that the time and -- Christ which it'll keep this month.
Financial capital we can always get back to the human capital -- loss that -- We now.
