The U.S. debt clock has swept past $18 trillion without so much as a flicker of hesitation.
But what is $18 trillion?
How about figuring it in exotic supercars, like those 253-mph, 1,001-horsepower (and 8 miles per gallon) $1.9 million Bugatti Veyrons?
For the national debt, you get just a handful short of 9.5 million of the cars.
How about air-hours for a major jet like Air Force One, assuming operating costs of about $275,000 per hour?
You’d have to rack up 65 million hours of flight, give or take.
And at those burger joints with the tiny $1 burger?
Well, a big pile.
At ZeroHedge.com, commentator Tyler Durden noted, “Last week, total U.S. debt was a meager $17,963,753,617,957.26.”
“Two days later, as updated today, on Black Friday, total outstanding U.S. public debt just hit a new historic level which probably would be better associated with a red color: as of the last work day of November, total U.S. public debt just surpassed $18 trillion for the first time, or $18,005,549,328,561.45 to be precise, of which debt held by the public rose to $12,922,681,725,432.94, an increase of $32 billion in one day.”
“It also means that total U.S. debt has increased by 70 percent under Obama, from $10.625 trillion on January 21, 2009 to $18.005 trillion most recently.”
In short, the federal government has borrowed, and spent, nearly $7.5 trillion more since President Obama took office than it has collected in taxes.