One Birrion Dorrars!!!

[AZhitman]

Normally I delete chain e-mails before I even read them... This one was kinda interesting:

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

A billion seconds ago it was 1959. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age. A billion days ago noone walked on the earth on two feet. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain...let's take a look at New Orleans ...

It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans . Interesting number...what does it mean?

Well... if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528.

Or... if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.

Or... if you are a family of four... your family gets $2,066,012.

Are all your calculators broken??

Accounts Receivable Tax Building Permit Tax CDL License Tax Cigarette Tax Corporate Income Tax Dog License Tax Federal Income TaxFederal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Fishing License Tax Food License Tax Fuel Permit Tax Gasoline Tax Hunting Li cense Tax Inheritance Tax Inventory Tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax) IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax) Liquor Tax Luxury Tax Marriage License Tax Medicare Tax Property Tax Real Estate Tax Service charge taxes Social Security Tax Road Usage Tax (Truckers) Sales Taxes Recreational Vehicle TaxSchool Tax State Inc ome Tax State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) Telephone Federal Excise Tax Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge TaxTelephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax Telephone State and Local Tax Telephone Usage Charge Tax Utility Tax Vehicle License Registration Tax Vehicle Sales Tax Watercraft Registration Tax Well Permit Tax Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago... and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt... We had the largest middle class in the world... and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened?

Can you spell 'politicians'?

And I still have to press '1' for English.

[Armelius]

That is a good post.

I wonder how much taxes we really pay. I am thinking at least 42 percent of our wages. Shouldn't every dollar be accountable too? Like the federal gasoline tax being paid in Arizona going for a bridge to no where in Alaska. Or how many F22's we are going to get.

An even bigger question is wouldn't we be better off having more of a closed type system with no taxes yet having an excise or import/export tax?

We could still have gasoline taxes paying for roads and sales taxes going towards schools and security.

I don't like the current system where you have to pay after the fact for what you did last year. Can easily make everyone criminals or cheats. Why not the pay as you go?

[480sx]

I dont want to get into the problems with that post, there are a few that stuck out.

Its a great post, and even with its faults makes a strong point.

There really seems to be a national wave of socialism overtaking the nation. All these talks of bailouts, THE bailout, magical health care systems while were in a huge deficit and under the worst economic crises our country has faced in a over 30 years. Its getting a little absurd. Who are we anymore.

250 billion to rebuild a city that sits below sea level.. HMMM lets think about how that is going to benefit.. Anyone. Sorry to be an Ahole about it, but for real, let that bish sink. Mother nature is going to win that war, and i for one do NOT want to see my tax dollars under water.

That is some angering arithmetic! Seriously, $500,000 for each freaken person in N.O. Wtf?! There is no way that bill will pass though, even in this climate of giving and unlimited billions...

It truly is sad to watch the decline of the America. Im betting we can bounce back, but were in for some hard times. We have become a consumer nation, one with 'unlimited' credit and its catching up to us in a big way.

We need to shift_government.

[S13_love]

We need to shift_government.

...true

Wow, those were some interesting facts.

For me, imo putting any money towards new orleans is a lost cause. Something about rebuilding a city that is below sea level, right on the coast, and in the path of hurricanes, seems like a poor idea.

Time to move people...just let it sink already.

[Cold_Zero]

A billion seconds ago it was 1959. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age. A billion days ago noone walked on the earth on two feet. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

I crunched the numbers because these chain letters have horrible math computations.

A billion seconds ago it was 1976A billion minutes ago St. Titus (of whom the Epistle of Titus is named after) dies in the year 107AD. Jesus had been crucified, died and resurrected more than 81 years prior.A billion hours ago it would be the Middle Paleolithic Age (year 112,069 BC) according to academic historians.A billion days ago Cold_Zero's ancestors did not walk on all fours. It would be more than 2.7 millions years ago.

[Fahaka]

that is a great post Greg even if it was a chain.

[Urabus GodofTraction]

I crunched the numbers because these chain letters have horrible math computations.

A billion seconds ago it was 1976A billion minutes ago St. Titus (of whom the Epistle of Titus is named after) dies in the year 107AD. Jesus had been crucified, died and resurrected more than 81 years prior.A billion hours ago it would be the Middle Paleolithic Age (year 112,069 BC) according to academic historians.A billion days ago Cold_Zero's ancestors did not walk on all fours. It would be more than 2.7 millions years ago.

Oh man. I figured as much.

[480sx]

Simply because they were off a bit on their math doesnt negate the point they were trying to make. Makes them look stupid, but its a freaken chain email i mean the 'OP' is long gona and the post has started its own life so to speak.

[OriginalWheelman]

I crunched the numbers because these chain letters have horrible math computations.

A billion seconds ago it was 1976A billion minutes ago St. Titus (of whom the Epistle of Titus is named after) dies in the year 107AD. Jesus had been crucified, died and resurrected more than 81 years prior.A billion hours ago it would be the Middle Paleolithic Age (year 112,069 BC) according to academic historians.A billion days ago Cold_Zero's ancestors did not walk on all fours. It would be more than 2.7 millions years ago.

I don't know. I think this chain letter might just be that old that old that it was right when it was written.

[480sx]

I don't know. I think this chain letter might just be that old that old that it was right when it was written.

A chain email that was written 17 years ago but yet somehow after Katrina.

[ishkabibble]

Did someone say one BILLION dollars?

Hee hee

[Cold_Zero]

I don't know. I think this chain letter might just be that old that old that it was right when it was written.

For it to have been "A billion seconds ago it was 1959," the letter would have had to been written around 1991.

For it to have been "A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive," the letter would have had to been written at least before 1928.

It is a sad statement on mathematics in this country when a person that only took Algebra II can solve these problems with a spreadsheet. Sorry guys when I see these chain letters and they make these mathematical claims, I am always skeptical.

[AZhitman]

I dont want to get into the problems with that post, there are a few that stuck out.

Its a great post, and even with its faults makes a strong point.

There really seems to be a national wave of socialism overtaking the nation. All these talks of bailouts, THE bailout, magical health care systems while were in a huge deficit and under the worst economic crises our country has faced in a over 30 years. Its getting a little absurd. Who are we anymore.

250 billion to rebuild a city that sits below sea level.. HMMM lets think about how that is going to benefit.. Anyone. Sorry to be an Ahole about it, but for real, let that bish sink. Mother nature is going to win that war, and i for one do NOT want to see my tax dollars under water.

That is some angering arithmetic! Seriously, $500,000 for each freaken person in N.O. Wtf?! There is no way that bill will pass though, even in this climate of giving and unlimited billions...

It truly is sad to watch the decline of the America. Im betting we can bounce back, but were in for some hard times. We have become a consumer nation, one with 'unlimited' credit and its catching up to us in a big way.

We need to shift_government.

Wow.

I certainly didn't expect that from you. Awesome post, and I concur 100%. Well-said, sir.

[AZhitman]

Bud, I'm gonna let you do my taxes.

[OriginalWheelman]

A chain email that was written 17 years ago but yet somehow after Katrina.

It's called a joke.

[Jesda]

Money is cheap. JUST PRINT MORE!

/grumble

[Cold_Zero]

Didn't the Germans try that once? Actually we only need to look at Zimbabwe as a modern day example. Where it costs over 1million Zim Dollars ($20 USD) to buy a loaf of bread. They have taken the "Bread Basket" of Africa and run it into the ground.

[Jesda]

Whats most amusing is that their currency sells for 10,000 times more than its worth on ebay as a novelty. Thats right, its worth more as a souvenir than as a medium of exchange.

[HashiriyaS14]

and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

I like how they threw this in there when it has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic, lol.

I gather the writer of this wasn't a creationist, as they obviously don't believe that the earth or anything else is a billion days old.

In general though, it's a very neat post, and I wholeheartedly agree with a great deal of it.

$250 billion just for New Orleans does seem like an awful lot of money.

[LeroyBrown]

Whats most amusing is that their currency sells for 10,000 times more than its worth on ebay as a novelty. Thats right, its worth more as a souvenir than as a medium of exchange.

Q.F.T.

[Cold_Zero]

Whats most amusing is that their currency sells for 10,000 times more than its worth on ebay as a novelty. Thats right, its worth more as a souvenir than as a medium of exchange.

Around the Oct-Nov 2008 time-frame the Zim government lopped off a few zeros at the end of their currency for practicality. Having to cart around billions of Zim Dollars to buy stuff became too cumbersome.

Again, they have run that country into the ground. It use to be the 'bread basket' of Africa and now they can't even feed themselves.

[Cold_Zero]

I gather the writer of this wasn't a creationist, as they obviously don't believe that the earth or anything else is a billion days old.

Actually, my brother in law who is a fellow creationist is not a Young Earth Creationist, like my other brother in law. He would be an Old Earth Creationist. Not all Creationists are Young Earth (which I believe you are fering to in your post).bud

[HashiriyaS14]

Actually, my brother in law who is a fellow creationist is not a Young Earth Creationist, like my other brother in law. He would be an Old Earth Creationist. Not all Creationists are Young Earth (which I believe you are fering to in your post).bud

A very valid correction.

I guess technically even I would be a certain type of creationist, or at least intelligent design advocate. I very much believe in evolution, although I also believe that evolution and all the other complexities of the universe came into being because they were designed to come into being in that way.

But yes, you're correct, I was referring to the "young earth" set.

[Cold_Zero]

Not to get off on a tangent, but what you described would make you someone that believed in Intelligent Design, not a Creationist. But hey, call Creationists do believe in Intelligent Design, but not always the other way around.