There is all this talk about a Billion here and there.
Maybe a Trillion for this, half a Trillion for that.

So what does that really look like? This was done with Google SketchUp
http://sketchup.google.com/


1st we have a $100, everyone has seen it before.






Next we have $10,000 , a nice little packet of money only a half inch thick.
Would pay for a nice vacation, or a cheap car.






Then we have $1 million, which is one hundred packets of $10,000.
While a lot of money this is around what the average person makes in their lifetime and would easily fit inside of a briefcase.







$100 Million is more impressive, it takes up a whole pallet.






$1 Billion is where the number starts to get really mind boggling
$1,000,000,000 would be 10 pallets, each with $100 Million






Finally we come to $1 Trillion
Which is a Million Million or a Thousand Billion or
$1,000,000,000,000
Which looks like this



BTW you did notice those pallets with $100 million are double stacked right?




Just putting things in perspective

Here is a list of the top 20 sponsers of earmarks in the new $410 billion omnibus bill
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/10...llion-spending/

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. $122,804,900
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. $114,484,250
Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo. $85,691,491
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif $76,899,425
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss. $75,908,475
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska $74,000,750
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa $66,860,000
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. $53,133,500
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. $51,186,000
Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii $46,380,205
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. $39,228,250
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. $36,547,100
Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt. $36,161,125
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. $35,577,250
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. $27,169,750
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. $26,628,613
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. $25,320,000
Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis. $23,832,000
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. $21,952,250
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. $19,588,625
TOTALS $1,059,353,959

Thats only 10 pallets of 100 million in earmarks for the top 20!

12 dems and 8 repubs. in the top 20
If you don't think both sides have sold out the american public for their individual power trips and vote buying schemes you are either crazy or an idiot.

With 20 people wielding the power of a billion taxpayer dollars at their whim, how much do you think gets depositeded in their offshore accounts for their vote of confidence in a project?

Would it not be better to just keep your monies in your state in the first place where you the taxpayer could watch it more closely.