Is it just me? If you’re an American as I am, are you worried about the debt our nation owes? As I write, it is approaching 13.3 TRILLION dollars.
If I don’t pay any debt I owe there will be consequences. Does our government and the American way of life not face these same consequences?
The problem I see is the average American just doesn’t realize how much trouble we are in. They don’t know how much IS 13.3 TRILLION dollars.
So, how much is a single trillion? A single trillion is 1 followed by 12 zeros. That is 1,000,000,000,000. It is a million million. Want to SEE it in dollars, go here.
But again, most Americans can’t seem to grasp the significance of such a large number.
I have always been fascinated by the speed of light – the FASTEST thing in the universe. The speed of light is 186,282 miles per second. Again, 186,282 MILES per SECOND.
Why do I relate the speed of light to 13.3 trillion dollars of debt? Because just 10 trillion dollars, laid end to end would take light almost an HOUR and a HALF to travel from one end to the other. That is just 10 TRILLION – not 13.3! This number blows my mind and we Americans are in trouble.
Remember, the American government is not a business. It doesn’t make or produce anything it can sell to help satisfy this debt. It can ONLY tax us, its citizens. What happens when we, the people, can no longer afford the debt?
Update! 1/3/2011 – now 14 Trillion
Update! 11/16/2011 – now over 15 Trillion!
No, it is not me, it is definitely US.