Beyond Imagination

When numbers get too big, my mind either wanders or quits. This breakdown arrived in an email and helps me understand billions and trillions easier. Take a look.

So, if we take the above figures and remove 8 zeros,it is easier to understand the numbers. Then if we use these figures and pretend it is a household budget, the picture is less blurred.

If we compare the Federal Budget with that of a rather modest family's income, we more easily see the difficulty facing the balancing of its budget. If we are really objective, it would seem to be an economic unlikelihood with such an insignificant budget cut. So, what should the family do? Or, what could they do? Borrow more? Find a rich uncle? Cross their fingers? How will the federal government (and other deeply indebted entities) handle their debilitating debts?

Now I can hear some say this comparison, or analogy, is ludicrous. Not quite. But it does show in a practical way how easy it is to be blind-sided by huge numbers. As seniors, we may not face as bleak a future as our children and grandchildren unless there is a return to the old-fashioned way of “living within our means.”

Living for many decades does not necessarily make us experts. To the contrary, it might even deepen our skepticism. Without being either politically motivated or an economic wizard, this illustration helped me understand how huge debts can occur and how difficult it can be to make them disappear.