Visualizing One Trillion Dollars

nice pics. lots of stuff like this floating around these days with all the bailouts. here’s what $1 trillion looks like (the actual sum of all those dollar bills): http://www.marketfolly.com/2009/03/what-one-trillion-dollars-looks-like.html

That’s a great way of showing just how much one trillion dollars is.

Great article. Not that it didn’t already seem bad enough, but this really puts things in perspective.

The amount truly is amazing. Check out these two great posts for a more quantitative approach to the number.
http://finance4nerds.com/57/number-freaking/how-much-is-a-trillion-anyway/
http://finance4nerds.com/65/number-freaking/how-much-is-interest-on-a-trillion-dollars-anyway/

Awesome visual guides. still makes you wonder why they are allowed to approve things like this.

oh jesus

I hate to see mint delving into politics. Blog posts in the past have had something to do with personal finance in some way. This really makes me reconsider using the service. Not because I essentially disagree with the political message, but because I don’t trust a politicized and sensationalist institution to provide sound data or financial management services.

If this continues I’m fleeing to the dreaded quicken.

It would seem that your representations of $1 trillion are innacurate. If the U.S. wars since 9/11 have cost $1 trillion(of course that is based on budget projections created by the Bush administration), then the operating budget of NATO militaries needs to be changed or else NATO has not spent money since 9/11. Last I checked the U.S. was part of NATO and the wars would seem to be part of its military’s operating budget.

Why does February have 30 days? And March only 30? And April has an extra day? What calender is this?

Its mind boggling to read what so much can do… this needs to be put to better use than just bailing out defunct companies..

Once again – an incredible visualization of what we spend/waste in the name of capitolism. I think President Obama missed a cabinet member or least very high ranking aide…please keep up the great – YET VERY important work of keeping your fellow citizens informed & educated

One trillion dlls can pay your All Inclusive Vacations in Cancún or Los Cabos for 20 years!!! oh yeah!!!

Gimme that money, dude!!!

@Mike

The US military budget is not entirely spent on war related activities. Generally it’s only 200 billion a year are spent on operations and such.

Gee, so the government could have made it part of the current bailout plan to simply buy up all of the foreclosed houses, and give them back to the people who lost them for a low mortgage rate or at a discounted price. That would accomplish one of the supposed initial reasons for the loosy lending practices — that is, to provide housing to low-income families.

Forclosures:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0zEXdDO5JU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhDkZjKBEw&feature=related

Loosy lending for low-income families:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260

One trillion dollars can fund the military of every NATO country combined.

For how long?

uhhh.. we have spent almost 2 trillion on the wars in afganastan, iraq, the “reconstruction”, and we will be paying for the vets for 80 years. Their kids will go to college for free, through the vet waver fee program. just saying..

One trillion dollar = no personal income tax for 8 years.
(income tax source http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html)

Total bailout commitments = 9 trillion dollars
= NO personal income tax for 72 years!

(source NYTImes http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/02/04/business/20090205-bailout-totals-graphic.html)

Do you think eliminating personal income tax may have been a better strategy for bailout?

I think Homer Simpson encountered the Trillion Dollar Bill:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_su2f2Gssp2A/RjDHwpGn2XI/AAAAAAAAAKE/rh38cLwAX6c/s320/trillion+dollar+bill-simpsons.jpg

now that’s a spicy meatball!

Pictures speak a thousand words.

Aw snap. I like Mint a lot but this is just know-nothingism. It adds nothing to our understanding of the situation. It’s implicitly talking about the fiscal policy debate with completely irrelevant comparisons. Because the policy alternative really was paying for 11 weeks of vacation for all Americans or funding all of NATO’s militaries. It’s like giving investment advice and saying, you know, that much money you’re putting into that mutual fund is equivalent to a stack of pennies stretching to the moon, do you really want to do that (because the better choice is stuffing it in my mattress??? the better choice is another Great Depression???)… just mindless. Is that the kind of useless financial advice I have to look forward to with Mint. Don’t become another CNBC.

I notice most who have commented here are younger people.. like in mid 20s. I’m in mid 60s and am very feaful for all of you. Since the government doesn’t have the money they are printing what they need. This will devalue our dollars and things will cost lots more. If you or I did printed money we would go to jail. So should those who approved this! You had better get politically active or you will live a very poverty-style future. The government is spending your future now..to extend it’s power and control. Wanna live the life of a slave? that’s where all this is heading unless young people get very political active.

Go Socialism!

I hope mint’s software isn’t a asinine and pointless as these graphics. There’s absolutely zero context in any of these. It’s just all Rush Limbaugh fodder.

Lame.

Ha Ha

The Enslavement of America