What's A Couple Extra Trillion?

These days, the government often tosses around "billions" and "trillions" as they talk about various programs. Here's a great way to visualize what these amounts actually mean.

Let's begin with what $1 million looks like. Believe it or not, this little pile is $1 million (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. 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.

 

(And notice those pallets are double stacked.YOU are the little person in the red shirt standing at the lower left corner) So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase "trillion dollars". that's what they're talking about.

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