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It’s not quite clear who actually takes seriously the idea of minting a pair of $1 trillion platinum coins to sidestep the upcoming debt-ceiling battle, who just wants the option on the table as a warning to House Republicans, and who’s just having fun with the idea. But it’s pretty clear that the “oddball suggestion” is gaining traction. But somebody would have to grace the design with their trillion-dollar face. Here, 10 suggestions.
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The nation’s total student debt load is growing by $2,853 per second.
(Source: theweek.com)
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The nation's student loan debt has outpaced total credit card debt
“This is a financial disaster for the next generation.”
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If the national debt were a game of Tetris…
Animators turn the so-called “debt puzzle” into a video game. Here, a lighthearted (and/or depressing) way to visualize the country’s financial obligations.
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Here's how the government is spending your money
According to a new report, tax payers spent $11.5 billion in 2010 to enhance zoos with poetry, honor the Grateful Dead, and subsidize the Department of Energy’s “inefficient” energy use. Here, some numbers (read the full list of ridiculous expenditures):
$175 million
Amount spent by the Department of Veterans Affairs to maintain unused buildings, including an octagonal, pink monkey house$615,000
Cost of helping the University of California at Santa Cruz digitize its Grateful Dead memorabilia$2.5 million
Amount spent by the U.S. Census Bureau on a critically derided, 30-second 2010 Super Bowl ad called “Snapshot of America”And just a reminder:
$1.3 trillion
The size of the federal budget deficit in 2010$13.7 trillion
The size of the national debt
