ConservativeHome's Platform: Dalibor Rohac: Wealth is the best protection from natural disasters and climate change

3. Natural disasters are making us poorer, not richer. After this quake, it is very likely that at least a few pundits will argue that the post-quake reconstruction of Japan will serve as a handy fiscal stimulus, which could perhaps pull the country out of the current secular decline. Massive spending programmes aiming at rebuilding destroyed infrastructure will give employment to people and cascade into the wider economy, stimulating spending and economic activity.

Except they won't. If that was true, then Japan should have endorsed a policy of destroying roads and setting buildings on fire a long time ago.