How big is a trillion?

Old Navy Vet | 11 March 2010 | OldNavyVet

[ETL]

U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK

“The Outstanding Public Debt as of 11 Mar 2010 at 11:47:24 PM GMT is:
$12, 548, 640, 578, 099. 93 (12.5 Trillion)

The estimated population of the United States is 307,990,676
so each citizen’s share of this debt is $40,743.57.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$3.96 billion per day since September 28, 2007!
Concerned? Then tell Congress and the White House!”

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

[ETL]

So, to stick w/even numbers, if the debt is 12T, then it’d take a year of work to pay it off. That is, the work (income) of everybody and company in the US. A single trillion, then, would be a month.

Since GDP is actually about 14 BILLION (not trillion), you may have to multiple your numbers by a thousand. i.e., it would take a thousand years to pay off the national debt. I think this is correct?

“Current-dollar GDP — the market value of the nation’s output of goods and services — increased
6.3 percent, or $219.6 billion, in the fourth quarter to a level of $14,461.7 billion. In the third quarter,
current-dollar GDP increased 2.6 percent, or $90.9 billion.”

http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2010/pdf/gdp4q09_2nd.pdf

[ETL]

BTW: here’s a link to a great site I just found that has these figures and many more all on a single page...in real time!

http://www.usdebtclock.org/#

[OldNavyVet]

A million seconds is 11.5 days A billion seconds is 31 years. A trillion seconds is 31,000 years

... and a trillion days is almost 3,000,000,000 years.

Dating that in today's world, that number of years takes us to somewhere around 2,999,998,000 BC.

[Iron Munro]

Ok, the horizontally stretched picture thing is really juvenile, not to mention the snarky insults of Mrs. Obama.

I guess some of us just don't idolize the first Wookie enough to suit her ardent admirers.
.

[TChris]

I guess some of us just don't idolize the first Wookie enough to suit her ardent admirers.

Wow. You really ARE 13!