Choose concrete language

When the U.S. government spent $700 billion in stimulus funding in 2008, the public had difficulty grasping this amount of money. Zephyr Teachout, an associate professor of law, tried to make this amount more tangible.

Which of the following concrete descriptions helps you grasp the magnitude of $700 billion? Under what circumstances might you use one description over another? Discuss your ideas in small groups.

a. It could pay for 2,000 McDonald's apple pies for every single American.

b. It is nine times the amount spent on education in 2007.

c. It is one-third of the total amount of money received by the federal government in 2007, including Social Security, income tax, corporate tax, and all other receipts.

d. It is $120 billion more than that spent on Social Security benefi ts.

e. It is almost 3 billion nonrefundable bus fares from Durham to San Francisco.

f. It is 35 times the amount spent on all foreign aid in most years.

g. It is more zeros than the calculator that comes with my computer allows.

h. It is 7,000 times bigger than the Sierra Club's yearly budget.

i. According to some estimates, it is three times what it would cost, over 10 years, to reduce oil dependency by 20%.

j. It is over twice the amount of all money given to all charitable organizations in the United States in any given year.

k. It is more than $100 for every person in the world.