America has a huge debt amounting to $16 trillion, which is the highest debt level ever achieved by the government in the history of the country. The figure is so huge that to understand its magnitude requires simplification. $16 trillion debt can be equated to a debt of $51,074.32 for every American citizen. This includes every woman, man and child in the country. The debt grows continually, and this makes it hard for the government to settle its debt. The debt that the government owes is much bigger than the United States economy.
Very few American citizens will ever possess or come across a total of one million dollars in their lifetime. Subsequently, even a fewer population will possess or accumulate one billion dollars in their lifetime. In the history of the entire universe, not an individual has ever accumulated wealth to a tune of one trillion dollars. The concept of million and billion dollars is abstract to most people. Consequently, it is ridiculous for individuals to imagine of the worth of trillion dollars.
In addition, the 16 trillion dollar debt can be understood in terms of the American budget such that in a budget estimate of $3.8 trillion, a deficit of $1.1 trillion is equivalent to 40% overspending. Consequently, $ 16 trillion is equivalent to overspending by 640%. A trillion dollars can be spent by an individual at a rate of a dollar per second for a period of 31, 688 years. This is such a long time that no individual has ever lived. It, therefore, means that no individual can spend a trillion dollars at a rate of a dollar per second in his or her lifetime. $ 16 trillion dollars, thus, translates to 507,008 years. The American government has overspent the citizens’ money by $ 16 trillion.
For a single American citizen to pay back the $ 16 trillion dollars would be much demanding in terms of the time span. A median family with an annual income of $ 50,000 requires 32 million years to repay every one trillion dollars debt that the country incurs annually, if they do not use any of their income for family upkeep and expenses. Repaying the $ 16 trillion dollars debt would require the family 512 million years. The average deficit of the government for every month is approximately $ 100 billion.
