Just How Much Is $1 Trillion Dollars?

Excerpts from U. S. Representative Michael McCaul's e-mail, February 13, 2009:

Stimulus Bill: "Today I joined my Republican House colleagues and seven Democrats to vote against the Democrats’ $787 billion spending bill, which surpasses $1 trillion with interest. Despite our efforts, this bill, packed with billions of dollars in wasteful spending, passed the House by a 246-183 vote. History has proven that we can’t spend our way out of debt....

"While I do support some provisions of the bill such as the tax relief and investments in infrastructure, only 17% of the $1 trillion provides new tax relief and less than 10% provides new roads and bridges. There’s simply not enough stimulus in this bill to give the economy the immediate jolt it needs. Alarmingly, this bill will provide 300,000 jobs for illegal immigrants because it does not contain House-passed E-Verify language that will help ensure a legal U.S. workforce.

"...Speaker Pelosi did not allow enough time for the 1000+ page bill to be reviewed and debated.... The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projects that long-term, the Democrats’ package will do more harm than good. It says that over 10 years, extra debt will 'crowd out' private investment, leading to a lower gross domestic product, which would hurt workers' wages. I am also concerned about rising interest rates and inflation as a result of this bill.

"I supported the Republican Alternative Plan. Calculations from the president’s own analysts indicate the alternative would institute long-term, meaningful tax cuts for individuals and small businesses, and create twice as many jobs for half the cost of the stimulus package....

We must remember this day. When our children and grandchildren are struggling under the terrible load of debt that the "spending" bill has placed upon them for generations to come, we must remember what happened on this day.

As the pork ( or earmarks) in the "spending" bill is revealed in the coming days, we as American citizens must not forget that every House and Senate member voted on this bill sight unseen. Not one single House or Senate member (or staffer) had read the bill in its entirety before voting on it. Out of the entire Congress, only three Republicans voted for the bill -- Senators Specter, Collins, and Snowe. All other Republicans voted against the bill and for good reason.

Just how much is $1 trillion dollars?

"If you stacked a pile of $1 dollar bills a trillion high beginning from the dawn of civilization, which is about 6000 years, and spent $1 per second till now, you would still have almost 80% left!" (source unknown)

"A total cost of $1.1 trillion for the bill ($792 billion for the legislation plus at least $300 billion in debt service to pay for it) amounts to a per-family cost of at least $9,418 in new spending/debt." (John Stone, staffer for U. S. Rep. John Carter)

"...this plan will cost taxpayers the equivalent of a million dollars a day for the next 3,000 years to fund a long wish list of items that won’t create jobs." (U. S. Congressman Michael McCaul)

Donna Garner

wgarner1@hot.rr.com