Measuring a Trillion Dollars
I think James (via Tyler) has a pretty good yardstick for trying to wrap your mind around how spending one trillion dollars affects you: the total federal budget in 2006 was $1 trillion, so just think of how much you paid in taxes in 2006 and double it.
Since deficits are projected as $1.75 trillion this year and $1.17 trillion next year, it would be more accurate to picture yourself paying roughly three times in 2009 taxes what you paid in 2006, then twice as much the year after, then perhaps a little less than twice as much the year after that. And that doesn’t even count the debt you’re already on the hook for!
Alternately, you could pretend that deficits aren’t real money, in which case your children sincerely hope you are correct.
