4 ms·
I saw some political polling a couple years ago-- people can't really conceptualize numbers this large. A slight majority of the poll actually thought a millio
by ckinnan 17y ago
I saw some political polling a couple years ago-- people can't really conceptualize numbers this large. A slight majority of the poll actually thought a million dollars was more than a billion. People have a handle on the size of a million bucks because that amount occurs in regular life-- the price of a luxury home, etc. I think one of the reasons there isn't much outrage at the US government's $1.8 trillion deficit this year is that it is so large it doesn't have any meaning.
- eru 17y agoYes. Stating the deficit per capita might put it in a better perspective for most people (e.g. me).
- asmithmd1 17y agoI think better to report the numbers per US household instead of per capita to give a realistic idea of your share. There are roughly 100 Million US households so for the $3.5 Trillion budget = 3.5 X 10^12/10^8 = $35,000/household That is a number I can understand