I guess I could live on that amount. :\
What does one trillion dollars look like?
41–50 of 54 posts
Re: What does one trillion dollars look like?
#42Why is _this_ one the front page?
Re: What does one trillion dollars look like?
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
My daughter doesn't pay taxes. She doesn't earn any money. She's 6.
Bad news: if she's a US citizen then at age 6 she already owes about $215,000. As a US citizen she will pay taxes. She'll start out by paying for part of your debt (and your parent's debt.) Then, she'll pay for her own debt. I've apologized to my daughter (now 24 years old) for the burden. It's unconscionable but it's the will of the majority so I have no choice.
The majority of American debt is held by Americans. So buck up. Maybe some other schmuck will just be paying out to your daughter.
Re: What does one trillion dollars look like?
#44"A billion here, a billion there ... pretty soon we're talking about real money." (-my first civil servant boss)
Re: What does one trillion dollars look like?
#45"A billion here, a billion there ... pretty soon we're talking about real money." (-my first civil servant boss)
Originally attributed Senator Dirksen, though he later claimed it was a misquote by a journalist.
Re: What does one trillion dollars look like?
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
My daughter doesn't pay taxes. She doesn't earn any money. She's 6.
Bad news: if she's a US citizen then at age 6 she already owes about $215,000. As a US citizen she will pay taxes. She'll start out by paying for part of your debt (and your parent's debt.) Then, she'll pay for her own debt. I've apologized to my daughter (now 24 years old) for the burden. It's unconscionable but it's the will of the majority so I have no choice.
[deleted]
Re: What does one trillion dollars look like?
#47"A billion here, a billion there ... pretty soon we're talking about real money." (-my first civil servant boss)
Originally attributed Senator Dirksen, though he later claimed it was a misquote by a journalist. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Everett_Dirksen
Thanks, I figured that quote came from somewhere.
Re: What does one trillion dollars look like?
#48Iraq, more or less.
Re: What does one trillion dollars look like?
#49As with others: values make most sense not in the abstract (how big is a stack of $1 trillion in $100 bills), but in context.
How does a budget item compare with other items on the budget? How does it compare with GDP or population? How does the cost of a school compare with a hospital?
Here's the US federal budget depicted graphically: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/2012...
The xkcd "money" graphic is a classic of the genre, representing values from a cup of coffee ($2) to the all human economic productivity ($2,397 trillion).
Re: What does one trillion dollars look like?
#50Why is _this_ one the front page?
Because a majority of asshat startup fanatics are also money fanatics. Let's face it, most of the reason people want to do startups, it because they have dreams of grandeur.
And I agree, it is extremely embarrassing that this money article would be vote up by HN users.