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Posted: 10/11/2005 4:28:15 AM EDT
i have heard the term a billion a lot.  like when we say we can build a 16' high fence across the southern US for 1.25 billion.  just wondering how much is that to the USA?  

what it the relation for a man that makes $50.000 a year?  is it like him spending $10, $100?
i guess i need to know how much the federal govt. "makes"    
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:29:45 AM EDT
[#1]
a veritable pantload, if you will
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:30:36 AM EDT
[#2]
Tag for answer.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:32:10 AM EDT
[#3]
IIRC, the Federal Government's total annual spending can exceed one trillion dollars - or at least, it did under the Reagan administration.

So, one billion would be like approximately $50, in your example.

Someone correct me on the total spending if I am wrong.

Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:32:25 AM EDT
[#4]
A billion is half of a B-2 bomber.  Dur.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:35:18 AM EDT
[#5]

Quoted:
IIRC, the Federal Government's total annual spending can exceed one trillion dollars - or at least, it did under the Reagan administration.

So, one billion would be like approximately $50, in your example.

Someone correct me on the total spending if I am wrong.




$50.00.  maybe as much as $100.00.  
i spend more on one date with a GF.  hell i spend a lot more putting a fence around my house!
why did i know it would be i pittance.  
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:36:40 AM EDT
[#6]
As the National Debt is:

$ 7,988,620,466,089.52

I'd say a billion ain't much.

Mike

ps - it's all relative, until our children and grand-children get stuck with the bill.....
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:38:47 AM EDT
[#7]
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:38:51 AM EDT
[#8]
Approximately 200 million people pay taxes, so your share, just as a fraction of tax payers, is about 6 bucks.  By the same logic, you'll pay about 60 to 100 bucks for Katrina and Rita.

Lets just say that if you pay taxes on 50,000 annual income, and after deductions, you pay 8,000 in federal income tax, your fraction for the Fence would be about $50.  You are paying about $500 for Katrina and about $2500 for Terror/ Iraq/ 'Stan.

Edit:  Your bill for war on terror is for '01-'05, not per annum.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:38:57 AM EDT
[#9]
A thousand million.

Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:40:15 AM EDT
[#10]
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:41:01 AM EDT
[#11]
More than I make in three years.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:42:35 AM EDT
[#12]

Quoted:
In FY 2005 (before the hurricanes) the total spending by the federal government would be about $2,500 billion. So to spend a billion dollars on something is about equivalent to someone making $50,000 spending $20.



This is about right, but the Feds get a huge "interest" return on your taxes, so each tax dollar is about 1.75 to 2.5 spendable dollars.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 4:57:01 AM EDT
[#13]
It's a drop in the bucket, especially when you consider that no dollar amount is too much when the .gov decides it wants to spend money on something.  They'll spend it and pass on the savings to you.  However, this issue will take a major turning of attitude (with both parties) before the agree to build a fence that will cut off their personal economic support.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 5:05:14 AM EDT
[#14]

Quoted:
A thousand million.



That's less of a smart-ass answer than you think.  I really wish that the news organizations would use this instead of billions.  People talk about a budget for a particular program being "20 billion" and it doesn't register as being a lot of money.  People relate much better to what a million dollars is, so I'd much rather that we discussed a government program that costs "20,000 million dollars" than "20 billion dollars".  It would give the average person a better sense for how much money their government is spending.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 5:32:14 AM EDT
[#15]
About 1/300th of what they want to rebuild NOLA.  I say build the fence!
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 5:35:57 AM EDT
[#16]

Quoted:
A thousand million.




+1

and not nearly enough for the expendatures of the US govt
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 5:38:08 AM EDT
[#17]
It's about how much the Federal Government spends every 25 minutes.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 5:46:24 AM EDT
[#18]
I like to break it down per taxpayer.  That really pisses me off.

How many Americans are there now, 270 million?  Let's say 75% of them are taxpayers (remove children and old people)  That's roughly 200 million.  1 billion divided by 200 million is 5.  So, a billion dollars to the government is five dollars out of your pocket.  (Direct income tax and added cost of goods by corporate tax, ultimately, yes, it comes out of your pocket).

SmilingBandit's B-2 is $10 from every single taxpayer in the US.

Your fence is $6.25 per taxpayer.

250 billion to hurricane relief is $1250 per taxpayer.


Link Posted: 10/11/2005 5:46:51 AM EDT
[#19]
1.25 billion for a 2000 mile border makes it about $625,000 per mile or about $120 per foot.  Seeing how a 15 foot high fence that is on some parts of the border is easily breached, it would take a lot more than 1.25 billion to keep the illegals out.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 5:55:35 AM EDT
[#20]

Quoted:

Quoted:
A thousand million.



That's less of a smart-ass answer than you think.  I really wish that the news organizations would use this instead of billions.  People talk about a budget for a particular program being "20 billion" and it doesn't register as being a lot of money.  People relate much better to what a million dollars is, so I'd much rather that we discussed a government program that costs "20,000 million dollars" than "20 billion dollars".  It would give the average person a better sense for how much money their government is spending.


I hear a lot of talk personalities use it for just that reason.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 6:00:13 AM EDT
[#21]

Quoted:
1.25 billion for a 2000 mile border makes it about $625,000 per mile or about $120 per foot.  Seeing how a 15 foot high fence that is on some parts of the border is easily breached, it would take a lot more than 1.25 billion to keep the illegals out.



The fence proposed is not just one fence. It is two fences with a road in between. The road in-between will have electronic sensors and the like.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 6:05:39 AM EDT
[#22]
Interesting tidbit why US billion is different than Euro billion

The American system is:
10^06 = million
10^09 = billion
10^12 = trillion
...

The European system (formerly used in Britain, still used in Germany)
is:
10^06 = million
10^09 = thousand million
10^12 = billion
10^15 = thousand billion
10^18 = trillion
10^21 = thousand trillion
...

Why the differences?

Date: 07/30/2000 at 19:08:07
From: Doctor Anthony
Subject: Re: Difference between an American and a European billion

The reason for the difference is historical and relates to the fact
that Latin is not taught to the same extent in America as in Europe.  
The bi-million, tri-million is an obvious extension from 10^6 to 10^12
to 10^18 in the European system and these become billion and trillion,
respectively.

In America the need for a simple word for 1000 million and an absence
of Latin led to the misappropriation of the word 'billion'.  England
held out for a long time with the 10^12 meaning of billion, but was
eventually overwhelmed by the sheer weight of scientific and
mathematical literature that used the American interpretation, so
billion in England is now used in the American sense. Europe may
eventually follow suit, but it will be a change from a logical system
to an arbitrary one.  

- Doctor Anthony, The Math Forum

Link Posted: 10/11/2005 6:26:41 AM EDT
[#23]

Quoted:

Quoted:
1.25 billion for a 2000 mile border makes it about $625,000 per mile or about $120 per foot.  Seeing how a 15 foot high fence that is on some parts of the border is easily breached, it would take a lot more than 1.25 billion to keep the illegals out.



The fence proposed is not just one fence. It is two fences with a rode in between. The rode in-between will have electronic sensors and the like.



At $120 per foot, good luck.  FYI, 8 foot chain link runs about $5 a foot.  
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 7:06:24 AM EDT
[#24]

Quoted:
i have heard the term a billion a lot.  like when we say we can build a 16' high fence across the southern US for 1.25 billion.  just wondering how much is that to the USA?  

what it the relation for a man that makes $50.000 a year?  is it like him spending $10, $100?
i guess i need to know how much the federal govt. "makes"    



you mean, what percentage of the federal budget is one billion?
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 7:07:18 AM EDT
[#25]

Quoted:
The fence proposed is not just one fence. It is two fences with a rode road in between. The rode road in-between will have electronic sensors and the like.

Link Posted: 10/11/2005 7:08:13 AM EDT
[#26]
Money isn't a problem, concrete and/or wood with labor would be tied up for the next 10 years making it...
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 7:13:01 AM EDT
[#27]
Let's put it into perspective.

Bill gates is worth something like $58 billion dollars.

Considering that,

If he drops a $100 dollar bill,

it is literally not worth his time to bend down and pick it up.

Link Posted: 10/11/2005 7:15:01 AM EDT
[#28]
I've always related better to that kind of money by putting it in seconds.

1 million seconds takes roughly 12 days to pass.
1 billion seconds takes something like 32.5 years.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 7:33:26 AM EDT
[#29]

Quoted:
Let's put it into perspective.

Bill gates is worth something like $58 billion dollars.

Considering that,

If he drops a $100 dollar bill,

it is literally not worth his time to bend down and pick it up.




www.templetons.com/brad/billg.html
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 11:06:50 AM EDT
[#30]

Quoted:
I've always related better to that kind of money by putting it in seconds.

1 million seconds takes roughly 12 days to pass.
1 billion seconds takes something like 32.5 years.



A billion seconds ago it was 1973.
A billion minutes ago it was 103AD.
A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
A billion dollars ago was only 3 hours and 30 minutes, at the rate the government spends it.


Last line updated to reflect TheTacticalSolution's post on page 1.
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 11:09:05 AM EDT
[#31]

Quoted:
A billion seconds ago it was 1973.
A billion minutes ago it was 103AD.
A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate the government spends it.



Could I have a minute of the gov's time?
Link Posted: 10/11/2005 11:09:33 AM EDT
[#32]

Quoted:

Quoted:
A billion seconds ago it was 1973.
A billion minutes ago it was 103AD.
A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate the government spends it.



Could I have a minute of the gov's time?



It'll cost ya!
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