As impressive as are the visual graphics below of the U.S. government’s deficit, they do not convey the individual American’s responsibility for this debt.
For example, how much of the federal government’s ANNUAL deficit is each American citizen required to repay–with interest, of course–in the future? Here’s the shocking answer–$5,000! That is $1.5 trillion annual budget deficit divided by 300 million U.S. citizens. Of course, we know that half of the American citizenry pay NO TAXES, so the number is at least double for those actually paying. And this is added to the individual’s future tax burden EVERY YEAR!
Here’s another way to look at it. The total UNFUNDED LIABILITIES of the U.S. government is $114.5 trillion. That’s $381,666 debt burden PER U.S. CITIZEN! And that burden on the individual citizen is increasing by $5,000 EACH YEAR!
Now, does anyone really think that these liabilities can be paid off in dollars of current purchasing power? Of course not. Patrick Barron
Physical concepts of money….
It does help one understand the severity of our national debt problem.
One Hundred Dollars
$100 – Most counterfeited money denomination in the world. Keeps the world moving.
Ten Thousand dollars
$10,000 – Enough for a great vacation or to buy a used car. Approximately one year of work for the average human on earth.
One Million Dollars
$1,000,000 – Not as big a pile as you thought, huh? Still this is 92 years of work for the average human on earth.
One Hundred Million Dollars
$100,000,000 – Plenty to go around for everyone. Fits nicely on an ISO/ Military standard sized pallet.
One Billion Dollars
$1,000,000,000 – You will need some help when robbing the bank. Now we are getting serious!
One Trillion Dollars
$1,000,000,000,000
When the U.S. Government speaks about 1.7 trillion deficit – this is the volumes of cash the U.S. Government borrowed in 2010 to run itself.
Keep in mind it is double stacked pallets of $100 million dollars each, full of $100 dollar bills. You are going to need a lot of trucks to freight this around.
If you spent $1 million a day since Jesus was born, you would have not spent $1 trillion by now… but ~$700 billion – some amount the banks got during bailout.
One Trillion Dollars
Comparison of $1,000,000,000,000 dollars to a standard-sized American Football field and European Football field.
Say hello to the Boeing 747-400 transcontinental airliner that’s hiding on the right. This was until recently the biggest passenger plane in the world.
15 Trillion Dollars
$15,000,000,000,000 – US National Debt (credit bill) has just topped the 15 trillion 2 months before Christmas 2011.
Statue of Liberty seems rather worried as United States national debt passes 20% of the entire world’s combined GDP (Gross Domestic Product). In 2011 the National Debt will exceed 100% of GDP, and venture into the 100% + debt-to-GDP ratio that the European PIIGS have (bankrupting nations).
$114.5 Trillion Dollars
$114,500,000,000,000 – US unfunded liabilities
To the right you can see the pillar of cold hard $100 bills that dwarfs the WTC & Empire State Building – both at one point world’s tallest buildings. If you look carefully you can see the Statue of Liberty.
The 114.5 Trillion dollar super-skyscraper is the amount of money the U.S. Government knows it does not have to fully fund the Medicare, Medicare Prescription Drug Program, Social Security, Military and civil servant pensions. It is the money USA knows it will not have to pay all it bills.
If you live in USA this is also your personal credit card bill; you are responsible along with everyone else to pay this back. The citizens of USA created the U.S. Government to serve them, this is what the U.S. Government has done while serving The People.
The unfunded liability is calculated on current tax and funding inputs, and future demographic shifts in US Population.
