Bringing Trillions Down to My Level

The good folks at the Heritage Foundation published this chart and accompanying comparison, with the help of the Congressional Budget Office and the Census Bureau. Billions, trillions...bring it down to a level I can relate to and it really helps to make it understandable, and unbelievable.

So, tell me:  how in the world can we keep this up without joining Greece, Spain, Ireland and unfortunate others in total economic meltdown? Things can get ugly, very ugly, without difficult changes taking place and soon.

A Billion Here...A Trillion There

We hear our elected folks talk about millions, billions and even trillions of dollars. They throw out those numbers casually and sometimes I'm not sure I, or you, really understand what those names represent.

I came across what I believe is an excellent illustration of the relationship between these numbers. Check this out:

What does one TRILLION dollars look like?

I guess I'm a "visual" guy, rather than a strict numbers guy, so that illustration really helps me to understand. Amazing isn't it?

Now, try to comprehend that the Total Public Debt Outstanding of these United States is over 14 trillion dollars! Then try to imagine the amount of interest on that debt. It makes my head hurt, as well it should. After all, pretty soon we'll be talking about Real Money.

Something Has To Change

In their 2011 Budget Chart Book, the folks at The Heritage Foundation have clearly illustrated that the federal budget is in dire straits. Here's just one example of our astounding out-of-control federal spending:

Note that this shows inflation-adjusted dollars.

Go here for a much larger chart and access to the other unbelievable information.

Just as many other nations, U.S. states and cities are finally admitting, we simply cannot continue this madness any longer.

Friends, without substantial and meaningful reductions in federal spending---cuts that will affect each of us---our great nation is headed into financial chaos. Let's hope the representatives in Washington have the guts to take the tough, necessary actions now, before it's too late.