National Debt Too Big for National Debt Clock to Handle

After the end of the Clinton era, the National Debt Clock in midtown was temporarily turned off because the number had actually started to go down for the first time since it was installed in 1989 by real estate developer Seymour Durst. Now, after eight years of The Decider, the number's gotten so vast and incomprehensible and depressing that the sign isn't big enough for all those digits. It's passed $10 trillion, and the Durst Organization will have to add another a spot for a 14th digit—while they're at it, they may as well make room for a 15th and 16th digit, and change the currency to yuan. For now the digital dollar sign currently on the clock has gotten its big break and stepped into the role of the '1' in $10 trillion. Break a leg, $!

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By John Del Signore in News on October 7, 2008 5:10 PM

Comments [rss]

Wza

aint that some ish?!

Bottomless Chips

The national debt has really never gone down, even through the Clinton years.

Bottomless Chips

oddly enough, i read this morning that the Dollar is gaining strength and is worth more against foreign markets... can this be a good sign?

This is only because foreign central banks own our debt, which is bad debt. Those bonds they bought can't keep up with our inflation. We're paying huge interest, but we're paying it with freshly printed dollars.

EastRiver

The yen is up. Carry trade unraveling or is Japan the new safe haven?

yg

nope, that just means that other countries are doing even worse.

in other words: there's no escape :)

ed_Extinct

oddly enough, i read this morning that the Dollar is gaining strength and is worth more against foreign markets... can this be a good sign?