Skip to main content

Billion American Dollars Seem Highly Insignificant Today -(coin your own acronym)

Dear Members and Constituents,
It's not clear whether Everett Dirksen (who served in the U.S. congress 1933 - 1969) ever uttered the infamous phrase "a billion here, a billion there and pretty soon you're talking real money". It is clear, however, several recent news stories seem to imply a billion dollars is not "real money".
  • The U.S. is contemplating $1.2 Billion in aid to Pakistan which, according to analysts, is unlikely to buy us much (if any) good will from their people
  • The $7.2 Billion broadband stimulus package will not make a meaningful dent in the disparity that exists between urban and rural broadband availability.
  • The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the administration's budget could bring about $9.3 Trillion (12 zeroes) in deficits.
  • Heck, Bernie Madoff, a single individual, was able to defraud investors out of $65 Billion (what's a billion among friends?)

It's intuitive to me that a Billion dollars (nine zeroes) buys elected officials less than it would you or I. The more money you manage, the less control over minutia you have. A housewife in Bangladesh will get the biggest bang for her Taka (worth about a penny and a half). Officials thinking in chunks of 69.7 Billion Taka ($1 Billion), have a harder time avoiding the proverbial Reagan-era $800 toilet seat purchases or letting a few million dollars line the pockets of corrupt local officials here and there. Sure, these are tough times, however, Dirksen died in '69 so apparently, it's been a while since a billion in the government's hands went a long way.

With the Rockies' home opener today, it's comforting to know a billion still gets you a 13 year runway with that organization (only 4.75 if you wanted to fund the Yankees payroll). Luckily, none of us is cursed with having that kind of money to spend (that did not sound right).. and thus it becomes easier to walk away from bad deals. Take Danielle Vitale (donut girl) as an example. She was well within her means when she purchased five dozen donuts to share with us this morning (although carrying them in did pose some challenges -they're heavy!). And if you've been having a hard time picturing these obscenely large amounts of money, perhaps it would help to think of a dozen donuts as the number of zeros that follow the number one in a trillion. Only nine donuts for a billion. I don't know about you but all this talk has made me getting hungry. So, stimulate the economy by purchasing some coffee, tea, hot cocoa or milk and then stimulate your taste buds with a delicious donut.

Have a Good Friday.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ashes to Ashes

  Friends, I don’t know about you, but my household tends to use things a tad beyond their reasonably useful life. Cars, razors, pillows... heck, we squeezed the last BTU out of our home’s 25 year old thermostat —15 years is for rookies. This week we bid our fire pit farewell. Structurally unstable and rusted to the core, this contrivance was well on its way to returning to the soil. Memories of s’mores, cigars and shared spirits come rushing back, as does the six foot tall cardboard peach burned atop it, which caused the first stress fractures in the waning days of 2019. Good times! I suppose nothing lasts forever, but memories can add a sense of permanence to the fleeting. So go, grab a donut and make some new memories!! Happy Friday!

To an end to Covid Games

  Friends, As 2021 comes to an end, it’s time to remember and be grateful for another year of life – there’s much for which to be grateful. Sure, some things could have gone better (they always can), but on balance things were good. At the González household, the cathartic process of capturing this year’s essence to burn at midnight is wrapping-up. This year’s theme, “Covid Games from home” uses Squid games (Netflix’s unlikely breakaway hit) as a way to mock the two main Covid variants of concern (Delta and Omicron) and commiserate about working from home with all the weirdness it carries along. Comfy slippers combined with dressing-up from the waist up for zoom meetings (not to mention the quarantine fifteen). As I hope for lots of snow and no wind (lest we need to call an audible on the midnight burn) my thoughts turn to my friends in Boulder county and hopes for a quick recovery. May 2022 bring an end to confinement and lots of opportunities to share donuts. Happy Friday!

BIrds of a Feather

Friends, The early bird catches the worm, however, as the sun rises I’d much rather have a Denver omelet than a diet of worms . Ready to fly the coop, my ducks all in a row, I ponder one more time whether a bird in hand is truly worth two in the bush. Egged-on by my quest to tuck away a nest egg, I’ve decided to change industries and hope that, like the phoenix, my career will also rise from the ashes of change. After all, I’m no spring chicken –my crow’s feet and gray bely my age – however, I have to trust my judgment and believe you can’t catch this old bird with chaff (whether or not folks think me an odd bird for my actions). And so I shall attempt to soar like an eagle, aware that counting my chickens before they hatch would be ill-advised. As I learn to talk turkey in the language of cybersecurity, I will endeavor not to hide my head in the sand, choosing instead to be like a duck – calm on the surface and paddle like hell underneath! And while my excessive use of bird-inspired