I read in the newspaper that the National Debt is 8.4 Trillion Dollars!
It was $7.4 Trillion ($7,379,052,696,330.32) at the end of fiscal year 2004. The current estimated population of the United States is 298,873,027. Each citizen's share of this debt is currently $27,975.69. The National Debt has continued to increase an average of over one billion per day since September, 2005! The Legal National Debt Ceiling has been increased to 9 Trillion dollars, as of March, 2006. Congress raised the nation's debt limit for the fourth time in only five years! How soon until the NEXT raise of the “Debt Ceiling Cap”?
JUST HOW BIG IS 8.4 TRILLION DOLLARS?
That is 8,4 and eleven zeros!
Let's use some terms we can all relate to:
How long ago was 8.4 trillion seconds?
If you were to spend a dollar per second, every day, 24-hours per day, 7-days a week, 365 days per year. How long ago in history would you have had to start spending all this money? Would you have had to start this spending spree:
In October, 1963 when Kennedy was shot?
-- Guess again! --
How about during World War II?
-- No way! --
Just pick one of these below!
During World War I?
Albert Einstein Publishes Theory of Relativity 1905 A.D.
How about the Civil War?
Would you believe: during American Revolutionary War?
Galileo Builds the First Telescope 1609 A.D.
Columbus discovers (that there are people living in what becomes) the Americas.
Near the Signing of the Magna Carta in 1215?
The Chinese Ten Kingdoms A.D. 907-979
Near the time when Christ was born?
Or perhaps sometime during the early Chinese Dynasties?
Chinese Qin Dynasty 221-207 B.C.
Chinese Xia Dynasty ca. 2000-1500 B.C.
Or perhaps sometime during the Ancient Egyptian Dynasties?
6th dynasty c. 2323-2150 B.C.
4th dynasty c. 2575-2645 B.C.
2nd Dynasty c. 2850-2649 B.C.
Early Egyptian Dynastic Period 1st dynasty c. 3050-2850 B.C.?
Was it during the time of Neanderthal Man, who lived c. 200,000 to 30,000 years B.C.? O.K. Are you ready now? Got one picked out? You would have needed to start this spending spree:
BEFORE Neanderthal Man! By over 64,000 years! During the Middle Paleolithic Period (250,000 to 60,000 B.C.) During the reign of the Saber Toothed Tiger! (They are also known as Smilodon, who first appeared about 1.6 million years ago.They went extinct about 11,000 years ago.)
The ANSWER is: Around 266,179.93 years ago, minus our current year of 2006 A.D.
-- puts us WAY back to 264,174 B.C.! That was just 8.4 trillion seconds ago, give or take a few. To calculate: divide 8.4 trillion (8,400,000,000,000 by 31,557,600)
60 seconds per minute, times 60 minutes per hour, times 24 hours per day,
(equals 86,400 seconds in a day) times 365.25 days per year, (equals 31,557,600 seconds in a year) And I said, "Let's use some terms we can all relate to." We STILL can't relate to events before the Neanderthals! Makes you want to go Hmmmm! Perhaps it is time to Balance the Budget and live with in our means as a Nation!
Time is $till ticking, we are $till $pending!
My website: Common Sense Poly Ticks - A Conservative Political Opinion site
