NATIONAL DEBT: $40 trillion is a lot

I thought your editorial on the national debt was interesting. With the United States debt approaching $40 trillion it is hard to appreciate what a trillion dollars really means. It is easy to throw out the word trillion, but how much is a trillion really. My explanation is as follows.

A million seconds was approximately 11.5 days ago. A billion seconds was approximately 31.7 years ago or January 1993. A trillion seconds ago was approximately 31,709 years ago, around 30,000 BC or in the middle of the last ice age. It is thought that humans didn’t reach the North American continent until 12,000 years ago. $40 trillion — wow!

JIM ENGLISH

Hayden