Finance

What's Happening to Wall Street? The world's economic structure is threatening to collapse: but why? Global corporate takeovers and more...

AIG was asking for an extra $37 Billion just three weeks after getting $85 Billion... and the word is: 'they will pay it back... ?

Trillions, Billions & Millions

Few of us have any idea how much a trillion is—or a billion—or even a million—because nothing in our personal experience is measured in numbers that large. It's difficult to visualize meaningful examples, but I'll try.

Please note that the following applies to American usage of these terms.
They are used differently in some other parts of the world.

First, comparisons between the three quantities:

A million is a thousand times as large as a thousand.
A billion is a thousand times as large as a million.
A trillion is a thousand times as large as a billion.

Then:

A thousand inches = nearly 28 yards.
A million inches = about 16 miles.
A billion inches = about 16,000 miles.
A trillion inches = about 16 million miles.

A thousand seconds = nearly 17 minutes.
A million seconds = nearly 12 days.
A billion seconds = nearly 32 years.
A trillion seconds = nearly 32,000 years.
(32,000 years ago is long before the beginning of writing or any known civilization, likely before language, about the time of the first cave paintings and crude sculptures, perhaps almost back to the inception of war!)

A dollar bill is a little thicker than a typical human hair.

A stack of a thousand one-dollar bills is more than 4 inches high.
A million would be about as high as a 40-story building.
A billion would be nearly 68 miles high.
A trillion would be nearly 68,000 miles high.

If you earn $50,000 per year, it would take you 20 years to earn a million dollars.
It would take you 20,000 years to earn a billion dollars.
It would take you 20 million years to earn a trillion dollars.

Next time you see a headline about a $10 trillion debt, or a $700 billion financial package, think about it in terms of these examples. Perhaps it will mean more.

How many zeros in a billion

The next time you hear a politician use the
word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the politicians spending your tax money after all...

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,
but one advertising agency did a good job of
putting that figure into some perspective in
one of it's releases.

A.

A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B.

A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C.

A billion hours ago our ancestors were
living in the Stone Age.

D.

A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

E.

A billion dollars ago was only

8 hours and20 minutes,

at the rate our government

is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain...

let's take a look at New Orleans ....

It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator,

Mary Landrieu (D)

is presently asking Congress for

250 BILLION DOLLARS

to rebuild New Orleans . Interesting number...

what does it mean?

A.

Well... if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans

(every man, woman, and child)

you each get $516,528.

B.

Or... if you have one of the 188,251 homes in
New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.

C.

Or... if you are a family of four...

your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington , D..C

< HELLO!>

Are all your calculators broken??

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Ta x
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage ChargeTax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago...
and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt...

We had the largest middle class in the world...

and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened?

Can you spell 'politicians?'
How about 'Banking Cartel?'