How Much Is $1 Trillion?

CNN asks a Temple University mathematics professor how much $1 trillion actually is. The story notes Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is correct when he says that if you spent $1 million per day starting in the year 0, you still would not have spent $1 trillion by 2009.

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  News & Politics

[Joe402]

I like how Republicans are bitching about spending after the Iraq war.

[moofph]

...quadrillion is next.

(that's one thousand trillion)

i've also read the world economy has over a quadrillion dollars worth in Credit Default Swaps.

tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-----K­ABOOM!

[Randy Mason]

Two wings of the same bird...until you get your arms around that, you will continue in the decpeption that there are 2 parties

[Hiron3star]

hey hey! Have you tried the Intellitus Cash System (just google it)? Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my work buddy got crazy amounts of money.

[Cakevspie94]

Well, when I made this comment the date was in fact 2010AD. However, the idea stays the same; there's no need for a guy with a PHD to tell us the national debt of the united states is really freakin big. Really.

[ignacio perez]

its 2012AD you did your math wrong they counted a million dollars a day from when he was born not after he died you are off a few billion.

[mindprism]

I wanted a realistic way to visualize a huge amount of money. I way where the human mind could almost comprehend it.

[galatix27]

Does she know that she just repeated the guy when it came to that "other tidbit" at the end? John Paulos had specifically said that fact at 1:03. Someone wasn't paying attention when they wrote that.

...When they wrote that 2 and a half years ago. Oh dear this is old.

[galatix27]

Did... Did you figure that out yourself? And if so, why?

[KeeleyDub]

1:43 ... read the news headline at the bottom..