I thought this might be of interest

If I owed that much I think I would be bankrupt....Taken from backwoods home magazine

BHM Home Archive

BHM Newsletter
Volume 11      Number 11

November, 2009
 

COMMENTARY

Here we are, smack in the middle of the holiday season. Many of us have spent lots of money or will soon spend lots of money on gifts for those we love. And when the season is over, many of us will shake our heads at how much money we spent.
But no matter how much we spend, it will pale in comparison to what our "leaders" in Washington spend every single day. So, thanks to an email we recently received, we thought we'd show you what the money they spend really looks like.

---

You've heard all the talk about "stimulus packages" and "bailouts"...A billion dollars...A hundred billion dollars...Eight hundred billion dollars...One TRILLION dollars...
What does that look like? The president and congress toss around these numbers like so many doggie treats,
Let's try to get a sense of what all that money looks like.
We'll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation.

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 a week or two of shamefully decadent fun.
And for some, it approximates their annual income!

---

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. Of course, with the cost of food these days, walking around with a grocery bag might get you mugged in some places.

---

While that measly $1 million looks a little unimpressive sitting on the floor next to that guy, $100 million is a little more respectable. Still, it fits neatly on a standard pallet.

---

Here is $1 BILLION dollars...chump change to some lawmakers.

---

Next we'll look at ONE TRILLION dollars... the number about which we've been hearing so much lately from Washington..
What is a trillion dollars? Well, it's a million million. It's a thousand billion. It's a one followed by 12 zeros.
Ladies and gentlemen...$1 trillion dollars...

Notice those pallets are double stacked...and remember those are $100 bills.
So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase trillion dollars... that's what they're talking about.
And finally, here is the approximate U.S. National Debt of 11 Trillion dollars in $100 dollar bills.

We said "approximate" above because the actual debt is probably now over twelve trillion dollars. That works out to over $39,000 for every citizen - every man, woman, and child!
Those of you who are "expecting" or will be in the future, your child will be born owing the government over $39,000...plus interest.
If every one of the 307 million men, women, and children in the United States got together and decided to pay off that debt with individual 5%, 30-year "mortgages, each of us would have to pay $209.36 per month for a total of $75,369.60.
That means a family of four would have to pay $837.44 a month for a total of $301,478.40 -- over three hundred thousand dollars!!! And that's before living expenses like rent, housing, food, clothes, etc.
And for what?
So some bankers and automobile executives won't lose their jobs? So the government can take over banks and car companies and run them as horrendously as they do everything else?
And these people — our "representatives" — who have saddled us and our children with so much debt want to take over our health care and add trillions more to the debt? Are they insane?
At this rate, how high will the debt be when today's newborns become an adults at 18? How will they be able to live when so much of what they earn is taken in taxes to pay off debts they never agreed to?
Please, think about that, about what our "leaders" have done to us, to our economy, and to the freedoms that used to make America the greated nation on Earth. Think about the kind of life your children and grandchildren will have to endure.
Write to these people. Call their offices. Let them know what you think of what they are doing. And be sure to let them know that if they do not stop this madness, you'll be voting in the next election...for the other person.
Maybe that will get their attention.