Fw: How much is a billion?
My dad forwarded me this today from work, from one of his co-workers who forwarded it to him, etc etc.
But it’s still something that people need to hear.
(I’ve revised it a good bit for accuracy and other things, but the point is still obvious and valid.)
The next time you hear a politician use the word ‘billion’ in a casual manner, think about whether you want them spending YOUR tax money.
A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but let’s try to put it into perspective.
- A billion seconds ago, it was 1976.
- A billion minutes ago, the Catholic Church had not been formally organized (i.e. people were just Christians with no other name attached, worshipping at autonomous churches, following the teachings of Christ and not tradition).
- A billion hours ago, the universe didn’t exist.
- A billion days ago … well you get the idea.
- A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes ago, at the rate our government is spending it.
While this thought is still fresh in your brain, let’s take a look at New Orleans. It’s amazing what you can learn with some simple division.
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) asked Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans from the damage of Katrina.
Interesting number … what does it mean?
- Well … if you are one of the 453,726 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child), you each get $550,993 worth of aid.
- By that reckoning, a family of four would get $2,203,973.
- Or… if you go by per-home division, and you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,328,014.
