A trillion here, a trillion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money

I posted that little blurb about Obama getting oh-so-tough with the budget at lunch, and I’ve been thinking about the numbers off and on all afternoon.  A trillion of something is very difficult to imagine.

I spent a bit of time this evening on everyone’s favorite wiki, looking for fun and alarming ways to convey the amount of money we’re talking about.  So how much money—really—is $3,500,000,000,000?  Dig:

• There’s Gold in Them Thar Hills, and I’ll Take It All:  $3,500,000,000,000, as of this writing, is right at the amount of money that would be required to buy all of the gold ever mined.
• Those Lucky Nutmeggers:  Evenly distributing $3,500,000,000,000 to every man, woman, and child in Connecticut would make all of them millionaires.
• The Stadium Promotion to End All Others—Millionaire Day!:  Suppose you gave $1,000,000 to every person through the gate at the Superdome.  Assuming sellouts, it would take 48 sporting events to give away $3,500,000,000,000.
• Well, It Is America’s Sports Car:  How about a new Corvette for every licensed driver in South Carolina, Alabama, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, Indiana, Massachusetts, Arizona, Washington, Virginia, and New Jersey?  $3,500,000,000,000 would cover it.
• Just Throw It in the Ocean:  $3,500,000,000,000 is enough to distribute $25,000 over each and every square mile of ocean on the earth’s surface.  Ever look out over the ocean?
• All the People:  $3,500,000,000,000 is about $11,400 for every man, woman, and child in the United States.  It’s about $515 for every man, woman, and child in the world.

Possibly related posts (automatically generated):

1. Will Mark Sanford resign? South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer has asked Governor Mark Sanford to resign. It’s a good idea, Mark.  Go home and never come back.  Perhaps...
2. My 30-year affection for the screaming chicken Of all the things I might plausibly own at some point, I think this is far and away the most redneck possession I would use...
3. Olympics I couldn’t care less about the Olympics. I can’t remember a time when that wasn’t so. Hell, they played soccer 90 miles south of my...
4. Colorado woman may not use rainwater from her roof I’ve lost hope that American society will ever say to any significant degree that there are too many laws.  I think it’s some bizarre combination...
5. Danica, stop whining Well, Danica Patrick is in the news for her off-track behavior (again). This time Milka Duno cut her off in practice, and Danica stormed down...