The following is from an email being passed around at work. Thought I'd share it here:
"The New Budget Deal
Federal Budget: $3,820,000,000,000 (3.82 trillion) Income: $2,170,000,000,000 (2.17 trillion) New Debt: $1.650,000,000,000 (1.65 trillion) Amount Cut: $38,500,000,000 (38,5 billion, about 1% of the total budget)
Total National Debt: $14,271,000,000,000 before this year's budget
Big numbers are easier to think about if we can put them in a familiar perspective; let's remove eight zeroes from each of those numbers and pretend this is the household budget for the fictitious Jones family.
Jones family spending this year: $38,200
Total family income this year: $21,700
Debt added to family credit card this year: $16,500
Previous outstanding credit balance: $142,710
New outstanding credit balance: $159,210
So last week the Joneses sat down at the kitchen table and agreed to cut $385 from their yearly expenses."
Of course, the Jones' breadwinner(s) lack the option of forcing their employer to give them a raise...
Mark L. Fergerson
PS typed while sleep deprived