What does that look like? I mean, these various numbers are tossed around like so many doggie treats, so I thought I'd try to make sense out of what exactly a trillion dollars looks like.
We'll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation. Most everyone has seen them, slighty fewer have owned them. Guaranteed to make friends wherever they go.
A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2" thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of shamefully decadent fun..
Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it..
While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet....
And $1 BILLION dollars... now we're really getting somewhere....
Next we'll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we've been hearing about so much. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it's a million million. It's a thousand billion. It's a one followed by 12 zeros. Are you ready for this? It's pretty surprising! Ladies and gentlemen... I give you $1 trillion dollars.....
And notice those pallets are double-stacked. And can you just make out that little guy standing to the left of all those pallets? Well, that's you, the taxpayer, who's paying for it all!
