Mathematical meditation
I want you to think about something for a moment: one trillion. A million million. Ten to the twelfth power. A one with twelve zeroes behind it.
It’s an incredibly large number, is it not? Most people know the word trillion, and they know, at least on an intellectual level, what that number is. However, most people cannot fully grasp the concept behind the number.
Here’s an exercise to help grasp the concept of one trillion. Take a one dollar bill out of your wallet and feel its weight. The weight is almost negligible, right? Now, imagine how much that would weigh if you multiplied it by one trillion.
The result is 2,200 metric tons. This is the approximate weight of five fully loaded Boeing 747s.
Now, picture this: this year’s federal budget is $3.6 trillion. Of that, more than $1 trillion is deficit spending.
The previous administration racked up a debt at a previously unmatched rate, for which it was rightly criticized. Yet, those same individuals who criticized former-President Bush on his deficit spending are mum about the deficit being racked up by the current administration, despite having only being five months into the administration, and despite it being larger than previous deficits by an order of magnitude.
More than $1 trillion in debt is being added to an already staggeringly large debt, in an economy that is on shaky ground because of excessive debt, yet, for some reason, people believe this will help shrug off the economic recession in which we currently find ourselves. This is a perfect example of critical thinking skills being replaced by misty-eyed dreams of hoping for change. Only, in this case, the only change for which we can hope is spare change.
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