November 24th, 2008 // comments (0)

What Does $315 Billion Look Like?

Let’s have a look, starting with the one dollar … it’s roughly 6 inches long, and 2½ inches wide. It’s roughly as thick as a regular piece of paper. Now we will continue to make imagine larger and larger pictures, with more and more money, and at the end I’m sure that you will be amazed by these “mountains” of money, millions, billions. So if you are going to earn so much money you’ll need some big deposits if you would like to keep them.

Let’s keep this whole Bailout-A-Palooza in perspective. Show me the money.

Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. government is prepared to provide more than $7.76 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers after guaranteeing $306 billion of Citigroup Inc. debt yesterday. The pledges, amounting to half the value of everything produced in the nation last year, are intended to rescue the financial system after the credit markets seized up 15 months ago.

The last diagram above is equivalent to $315 billion. You can imagine that $8 trillion would look less like a skyscraper and more like the Manhattan skyline. Just dollars in the wind, my friends.

Related:

• March 16, 2009 -- 20/20’s Stossel Slams Bailout
• January 15, 2009 -- Senate To Vote On 2nd Bailout
• December 10, 2008 -- Before This Auto Bailout Vote…
• December 10, 2008 -- Democrats Reach Auto Bailout Deal
• November 26, 2008 -- Markets Close Up For Third Day
• November 25, 2008 -- Update: The Cost Of The Bailout
• November 12, 2008 -- Hey! Want Some Bailout Cash?
• October 3, 2008 -- House Passes $700 Billion Bailout
• September 23, 2008 -- Abandon Ship: Bail The Bailout?
• February 5, 2010 -- UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPS