How much is nine trillion?
The federal debt is approaching the $9 trillion “limit” set by Congress in May 2006. It’s rising so fast, there’s an online clock that tells you your share of the money owed.
Former Governor John Kitzhaber, speaking at the Oregon Nurses Association convention in Eugene earlier this month, put this number in perspective:
About a million seconds ago was last week.
About a billion seconds ago, Nixon was leaving the White House.
About a trillion seconds ago was the year 30,000 B.C.
And we are nearly NINE trillion dollars in debt. It’s as if we’ve been borrowing a dollar per second for a quarter of a million years.
When I presented this information as a table topic at dinner, Steve asked, “Who do we owe it to?”. The answer to this and other Frequently Asked Questions here.