Monday, July 13, 2009

Money & Business

Capital Commerce

The Blogosphere Speaks!

March 26, 2008 04:07 PM ET | James Pethokoukis | Permanent Link | Print

The blogosphere speaks!

1) John Tamny (RealClearMarkets) dispels some economic myths. This one is a print-and-save, folks.

2) Larry Kudlow sees an interesting connection between McCain's surge in the polls and the stabilization in the stock market.

3) Calculated Risk thinks the Fed's involvement in the JPMorgan Chase-Bear Stearns deal has created a dangerous precedent.

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Nice site

Nice article

What 700 Billion Dollars Really Means!

The United States Government is capitalizing on a comprehensional failure of the human mind – the inability to fully grasp the magnitude of large numbers. Upon hearing numbers beyond a few thousand our brains interpret it as, “Wow, that’s a big number!” with no tangible image to relay exactly how big. So, let’s start with a One Dollar Bill. We can understand $1.00, right?

According to the United States treasury, a One Dollar Bill has a thickness of 0.0043 inches. One thousand One Dollar Bills would be one thousand times thicker -- 4.3 inches.

One million is one thousand thousands, so the thickness of $1,000,000 is 4300 inches. Converting to feet and this becomes 358.3 feet, an American football field.

One billion -- $1,000,000,000 is one thousand times thicker still or 358,333.3 feet. This is 67.866 miles, the driving distance from New York City to Milford CT.

One Trillion is one thousand billions – one trillion One Dollar Bills stacked one on top of another is 67,866 miles. This would circumnavigate the globe 2.73 times.

The proposed 700 Billion Dollar bailout alone would be a stack of One Dollar Bills stretching 47,506.2 miles, or 1.90 times around the globe.

A stack of One Dollar Bills totaling the current national debt cap of 10.6 trillion dollars would go around the equator 28.93 times. The proposed cap of 11.3 trillion dollars would go around 30.85 times.

Is creating a debt that is the equivalent of a stack of One Dollar Bills rounding planet 31 times a responsible act?

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About the Capital Commerce Blog

Send an E-mail to mbandyk@usnews.com.

U.S. News business reporter Matthew Bandyk examines the issues, people, and debates that shape the nexus of political and economic life in the nation's capital. Reach him by email at mbandyk@usnews.com.

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