Understanding a billion

[John Parslow]

This is too true to be funny.
The next time you hear a politician use the
word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about
whether you want the 'politicians' spending
YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,
but one advertising agency did a good job of
putting that figure into some perspective in
one of its releases.

A.
A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B.
A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C.
A billion hours ago our ancestors were
living in the Stone Age.

D.
A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

E.
A billion Pounds ago was only
13 hours and 12 minutes,
at the rate our government
is spending it.


Stamp Duty
Tobacco Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Income Tax

Council Tax
Unemployment Tax
Fishing License Tax
Petrol/Diesel Tax
Inheritance Tax
(tax on top of tax)
Alcohol Tax
V.A.T.
Marriage License Tax
Property Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago...
and our nation was one of the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt...
we had the largest middle class in the world...
and Mum stayed home to raise the kids.

What the hell happened?

Thought this may inspire a few responses. JP

[Eric J (Viking)]

Just slightly off topic....

Billion is a huge amount!! But think of a Trillion ... how big is that??

read this ... and realize the debt of america will never be paid!!!!
http://ttoes.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/one-trillion-dollars-how-big-is-that/

viking

[John Parslow]

Hello Viking, thank you for the informative link. Obviously in terms of a billion, a trillion is almost incomprehensible! JP

[Luke]

Trillion? easy:
this is 100 x 100$ bills:
1517
this is Million$
1518
this is 100 Million, fits on the pallet
1519
This is Billion$
1520
And this is trillion
1521

U.S.Congress approved $900 billion for war in Iraq, 09.2009-09.2010 (http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm)
and another $345 billion for Afghanistan (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1519055720100716)

Global GDP is around 69 Trillion/year. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29)

And global derivative market (the ticking bomb no govt like to talk about ) is estimated at 1600 T$. Imagine that.

All gold in the world mined to this day (~5.3 billion ounces) is worth ~6.36 T$ on current prices (funny it fits in 20.4m cube :) )

[conk]

There is no intention of paying back the trillions. It's built into the design of fiat currency. Fiat is pure debt. There is no worth or substance to our money. The system MUST fail. It cannot inflate to infinity. The creators know this and will steal as much as they can by inflating and borrowing until it collapses. Then they start all over again. The cycles can be easily identified, going back hundreds of years. THE GREATED SCAM AND THEFT IN HISTORY!!!!

[Operator]

Great thread ...

Most people probably lack a feeling for numbers especially when they grow bigger and bigger.
For those of you who didn't see it yet: The Most IMPORTANT Video You'll Ever See (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-QA2rkpBSY&feature=PlayList&p=D443635FA5F476E8&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1)

Amazing and very good lecture ...

[John Parslow]

Thanks Operator for the link, I have seen these videos prveiously but always good to refresh my memory. JP

[Bryn ap Gwilym]

You forgot to mention that there is huge difference between 1 billion in money & 1 billion in math. So when they talk about 1 billion are they on about the American 1000 * 1,000,000 or the correct figure of 1,000,000 * 1,000,000? If it is the correct figure, that would mean a hell of a lot more money is being stolen than the gullible are aware of! The universe is also a lot older than most think. :confused:;)

[Bill Ryan]

-------------------

3.5 billion giant-size jars of Marmite piled on top of one another will reach the moon. (Just worked it out) :)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41a8EVuRPnL._SL500_SS75_.jpg

[Luke]

You forgot to mention that there is huge difference between 1 billion in money & 1 billion in math. So when they talk about 1 billion are they on about the American 1000 * 1,000,000 or the correct figure of 1,000,000 * 1,000,000? If it is the correct figure, that would mean a hell of a lot more money is being stolen than the gullible are aware of! The universe is also a lot older than most think. :confused:;)

See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_and_short_scales

We follow here a short scale here, thus billion = 10^9 , trillion = 10^12

[John Parslow]

Hi Bill
You are obviously not too busy at the moment. Thanks you for a great site. JP

[John Parslow]

Hello again Bill

How many billion giant-size jars of Marmite piled on top of one another would it take to reach Mars? JP

[Operator]

A zero means nothing ... until you add it at the 'right' side ...;)

[HORIZONS]

Great thread ...

Most people probably lack a feeling for numbers especially when they grow bigger and bigger.
For those of you who didn't see it yet: The Most IMPORTANT Video You'll Ever See (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-QA2rkpBSY&feature=PlayList&p=D443635FA5F476E8&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1)

Amazing and very good lecture ...

Is this vid about math or is it a case for the depopulation agenda?

[Operator]

Is this vid about math or is it a case for the depopulation agenda?
It is what you make of it yourself ... He explains how exponential growth works. So the main focus is math.
The part where he references to the fact that growth is almost never unlimited and shows how statistics work he might be a bit on a slippery slope
when mentioning the global population growth ... and winks to the fact that we might face a problem there.
Although he then even mentions that either nature or we have to come up with a solution he never mentions killing people or so ...

So, yes you're right he mentions population growth ... but I don't think he advocates depopulation.

[Arpheus]

I love bill's sense of humor its just classic at its core LOL,i wish i could sit down with you for a personal conversation bill,i bet i could tell you some good funny classic jokes hehe:rofl:

[Bill Ryan]

How many billion giant-size jars of Marmite piled on top of one another would it take to reach Mars? JP

* 500 trillion (closest)
* 4 quadrillion (farthest)
* 1 (using a jumproom)

I tried figuring out the number to reach the surface of the sun, but the Marmite would evaporate and the glass would melt. It wouldn't work.

:)

[Craig]

What a great way to get rid of marmite off the planet - (I am assuming it is similar to Australian Vegemite) now if we can get the PTB to climb this stairway to heaven and leave us alone

[conk]

Bill, is your pantry big enough for that many jars of the stuff? Should keep you through the crisis. "He's a hoarder, get him".

[Fredkc]

ok... Pop Quiz!

Re-calculate the previous statements using cans of Spam! (http://www.spam.com/)
http://blog.vkistudios.com/images//1559606_340_1116081430036-spam.jpg