What does a Trillion Dollars Look Like?

You know Democrats have passed all these emergency "bailouts" at nearly 1.4 trillion and counting...

Ever wonder what a trillion look like? Check it out

What does one TRILLION dollars look like?

 

Looks like enough to fill a few Olympic-sized Swimming pools. Where do I go to get in line for some of that stash? Im not greedy-i'll be satisfied with only one pallet-full of them thar bills ;-)) You guys and gals can have the rest with my complete blessings.

 

It so huge it makes you dizzy, it's almost beyond imagination.

 

Yes, it's a little confusing for us on 'the other side of the Pond'.....our media relates that the Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, AIG and TARP provisions were all committed to by the Bush administration ( were they the Democrats ? - not too sure of that either...)

So - can the current administration ( which I guess must be the Republicans ? ) simply reverse/overturn the previous guys' decisions....? It'd be good to have some clarification as our system over here is different......

 

(The American system of checks and balances among the three branches of the federal government make it difficult to follow who's to blame. We can have a democratic president but a congress controlled by the repubs or visa versa. Or both the white house and congress are controlled by one party - that is very dangerous to the US treasury!(The current situation almost with dems now controlling both the WH and Congress))

The president has to get congress to pass bills for him to sign. SO if the WH is Republican and Congress has near majorities on the Democratic side, it is nearly impossible to turn over the previous bills signed into law by the previous president.

The Bush Administration(The White House - Pres Bush) had kept warning of problems with the Community Reinvestment Act (A Carter and Clinton Bill passed when Dems controlled the congress and white house) and its impact on Freedie Mae/Mac and the lending institutions. Barney Frank (a democrat congress critter head of a bank committee and whose boyfriend at the time worked at freedie Mac) insisted as late as 2006 nothing was wrong there with home mortages at either semi-federal Freedies.

Why did so many lending institutions lend money to people who weren't truly qualified ? The CRA forced these lending companies to take the risk and give loans to folks who normally would NOT qualify. And I am sure some lending companies saw a way to make more money too.

Well, the "birds have come home to roost" so to speak.

And yes Repubs are to blame by trying to be "bi-partisan"...more $$$ down the drain. Cooperation with your enemy always costs everyone.

The real problem is that the American public is now too under educated to think about issues on their own and rely on the Main Stream Media which is decidedly very left of center. And the American public thinks its ok to keep the congressional critters (senators and congressmen) in their elected post election after election. The result is: a professional political ruling class (mostly lawyers) who forces laws on the little people and yet have their own laws to cover themselves.

So now Congress (democrats in control) along with BO (a democratic communist) are pouring those trillions of dollars on the cascading problems and adding another half trillon for over 8000 pork earmarks to pay off their supporters. Its going to be a very long four years for the US and the rest of the world too.

 

An amazing view of how much money is really being talked about and at the same time how much money has been lost...

 

That is nothing to this...

U.S. N[SIZE=+2]ATIONAL[/SIZE] [SIZE=+3]D[/SIZE][SIZE=+2]EBT[/SIZE] [SIZE=+3]C[/SIZE][SIZE=+2]LOCK[/SIZE]

The Outstanding Public Debt as of 07 Mar 2009 at 05:41:26 PM GMT is:

 

Thanks for the clarification, texson66 !

I guess that's one reason why the 'general public' over here are so distrustful right now - there's a general perception that both 'sides' are equally to blame ; the process of deregulation ( and over-admiration of the 'financial services industry' ) started under Thatcher ( Conservative ) but was enthusiastically expanded under Blair ( Labour ).

There is now a real feeling of 'they're all the bl**dy same'.....

 

We, as Americans have been "grappling" with the concept of trillions only since the last of the Reagan years. Before then it had been approached as a number, but never exceeded.

The very first time multiple trillions were discussed as per the nation’s debt, or even a number was in the Reagan years. Government debt rose from $908 billion in 1980 (close, no cigar) after the Carter years, to $2.6 trillion in 1988 at the end of the Reagan terms; approximately a 200% increase.

America has been attempting to figure out how to shift "payment" to our grand and even great-grand children ever since.

 

Clint,

That why I'd like to start a TTBO party: you always vote against the incumbent every election; you never let a group of "professional" (?) politicians (dems or repubs) in DC ever become so entrenched they run off in only one political direction. (I wish Congress could only meet every two years too)

Oh, TTBO...Throw The Bums OUT!

 

Just wait and see!
Soon you will need $ 1 million to buy yourself a chunk of bread, just like in Germany in the 1930ies..

RAM

 

Almost all states have a balanced budget by law. If we ever get close to a balanced Federal budget again we the voters should demand the Federal govenment do the same. Blank checks and politicians = the mess we are in now.

 

That was a short term hyper-inflation pre-Dawes Plan and Schacht which was long gone by 1926. Much to the dismay of both the right and left political parties in Germany. Not "Germany in the 1930ies [sic]"

In the thirties bread in Germany sold for .50 RM per kilo., I have the stats if you are interested. Germany actually did bette than the rest of the world as the "Depression" took effect. The gold standard backing for the Mark had been re-established by then, and the Mark was not falling in value; the loss of exports to foreign markets was the problem then. Bread remained reasonably priced, but jobs were put on "hold" or lost as export markets evaporated. This was the time Hitler and the Nazis became the most "appealing" alternative to the Weimar Republic.

We (America) won't fall into the same pit just because of the "safety nets" that experience created. The past years of de-regulation have weakened some of them, but they still exist. Banks in America won't fail (FDIC) and leave their depositers without funds. Even though our dollar is not "gold backed" since the Nixon administration era, America's dollar is tied to its ability to produce.

Whether it is real "goods" (sorry we have given that away for some personal profit of a few), or innovation (here America may still be on the cutting edge), or simple audacity, America will still at least try.

 

Saw a tiny statistical sidebar in the Wall Street Journal the other day;

The US national debt at the end of 1943 represented 30% of the US GDP.

The US national debt at the end of 2008 represented 12% of the US GDP.

 

Well, that's really good to hear.
Being our closest ally, I have been worried about your situation for a while.

RAM

 

I suppose the only problem there would be that in 1943 we were an "exporting" nation of many of the products inside of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while later the section of the "debt" was tied to a lower Gross Domestic Product. Just a guestion?

In 1943 America was the leading exporter or POL, steel, and agricultural goods, were we on the same level in 2008? I think not.

 

Looks like the Prez is doing his best to keep up his record spending pace...

"
That's how much the Barack Obama administration has spent thus far. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell did the math .. "In just 50 days, Congress has voted to spend about $1.2 trillion between the Stimulus and the Omnibus ... To put that in perspective, that's about $24 billion a day, or about $1 billion an hour."
Your government at work." - Neal Boortz

I wonder if the US Mint printing presses will catch on fire?

 

You do realize that the US GDP is more than 14 Trillion?

 

And your point is?

The trillions being spent are the highest percentage of the US GDP EVER.