What’s a Billion here or there?

I recently posted that the Bush Administration’s much-touted Millennium Challenge Corporation has failed to follow through on the $5 billion commitment to help poor nations.

Meanwhile on the 3rd anniversary of the Iraqi war, we learn that most of the just-passed House spending package, that is nearly $68 billion, is to pay for further military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Furthermore, this will push total war costs since Sept. 11, 2001, to nearly $400 billion. (Not that it matters now, but before the Iraq invasion in 2003, our administration officials predicted that costs related to the war would total less than $100 billion.)

A 68 Billion dollar increase. 400 Billion dollars total. These are big numbers, unfathomable really. Well, at least with a simple calculation I can figure that in relationship to the aforementioned $5 Billion committed (but not delivered) to help the World’s Poor, the US has spent 80 times that much on War these past few years!

A couple questions linger: One, as a taxpayer, do I want politicians spending our tax money that way? And two, how much is a “billion”, a figure tossed around rather casually in government circles?

One advertising agency did a good job of putting the “Billion” figure into some perspective:
a. A billion SECONDS ago it was 1959.
b. A billion MINUTES ago Jesus was alive on the earth.
c. A billion HOURS ago supposedly our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

A billion DOLLARS ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes ago, at the rate our government is spending it.

Next: What is $8 Trillion?