Carpe Diem - How Big is $787 Billion? What Would It Buy?

Carpe Diem Blog ^ | 022509 | Mark J. Perry

[Fred]

The latest estimates for the stimulus package are about $787 billion, a number so mind-numbing large it's hard to even imagine a number of that size.

Yesterday's "The Gartman Letter" puts it in perspective for us:

$787 billion would buy 4.6 million homes here in the US at the most recent median price of $170,300 for January 2008.

$787 billion would send a check for $2,623 to every man, woman and child in the US.

$787 billion would fund 7.7 million four year scholarships to the average private university in the US at current tuition rates.

$787 billion would fund 30 million full four year scholarships to the nation’s public universities.

$787 billion would buy 27.7 million cars at the average price of an automobile sold last year in the US.

$787 billion would fund four full months of a tax holiday in the US.

[Always Right]

It could buy me and have a couple billion to spare....

[mikelets456]

For me, I could buy the world...for the government a hammer and a few nails!

[gimme1ibertee]

Carpe Diem???
I think it’s more like “Carpe Moolah” (OUR moohlah)!!

[Centurion2000]

It would buy the US Navy from SCRATCH.

[ontap]

Or $1 million dollars a day for 2000 years.

[Carpe Cerevisi]

Mmmmm....that’d buy a lot of beer.

[mnehring]

$787 Billion would probably be able to buy controlling interest in every Brewery in the world that was publicly traded.

[Squantos]

787 Billion seems to buy one eternal control of a nation from the idiots that voted for him. The gimmie I want lets go crowd sold out their own liberty and their nations for a few mortgage payments and free kool aid.

Doom on em all.......

[mbynack]

It would fund 4,162,322 art projects mocking modern Christianity if given to the National Endowment for the Arts.

It would fund the National Septic Tank Museum in Harry Reid's district.

It would fund the Nancy Pelosi Memorial Bridge.

It would buy 400,000 Illinois Governors.

[NCC-1701]

$737 billion could buy 700 of these babies

[absolootezer0]

a fat chunk of the national deficit?

[cripplecreek]

[freespirited]

It could probably fund a couple of government agencies too.

/s

[OrioleFan]

$787 Billion can buy every American a lifetime supply of hammers and sickles.

[ml/nj]

I'm guessing that the 787 will never fly; and neither will our economy with the burden the socialist want to impose upon it.

ML/NJ

[4Speed]

Do you live in Maine ?

[Skooz]

I would use it to buy one of these:

And build one of these:

And the rest I would use to pay off my student loan.

[Mat_Helm]

5,702.89 F-22 Raptors based upon $138 million 2008 fly away cost per unit aircraft. Of course as prodution increases to that level than the unit cost goes down by half so likely you could build 10,000 F-22’s for $787 billion.

[antiRepublicrat]

Most importantly, it can buy a federal election.