It is worth understanding just what a billion of anything really is. It is a big number; it is a really big number, it is, well, a whole lot.
• A billion seconds ago it was 1959
• A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive*
• A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age**
• A billion days ago our ancestors were almost as smart as today’s Chimpanzees***
• A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it
Now that we understand "billion" better, it is worth noting that Louisiana is asking the taxpayers of the US, through the Congress, to spend an additional $250 billion to "rebuild New Orleans." This is a lot of money.
Using New Orleans' official population taken last by the Census Bureau in 2000 of 484,674, every man, woman and child will "receive" $516,528. Of course New Orleans' population has fallen a bit since then, and is now estimated at 187,525, so really each resident of New Orleans will "receive" $1.335 million. Another way to look at it, each of the 188,251 homes In New Orleans will get $1.330 million for "renovations.
* Atheist readers should look at this as a metaphor
** Creationists should not be reading my posts in the first place
*** Or about the same as today’s average creationist
