By Ian Campbell

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

I recently had dinner with the owner of a large, successful U.S. family business. Between the main course and dessert he asked me for my thoughts on the U.S. presidential race and economy in the context of family businesses.

When the conversation turned to existing and prospective government debt I asked him if he had ever put “a trillion” in context. He certainly could identify with “a million.” We were having dinner in a house worth at least that. He knew “a billion” was “one thousand millions.” He also knew “a trillion” was “one thousand billions.”  But in terms of comparisons that he could identify with, the best he could do was say that “a trillion” was a humongous number.

About the word trillion and its meaning

“Trillion” without context regularly rolls off the tongues and pens of politicians, economists, executives, and lots of others. So I gave my friend the following comparisons to think about. His reaction: one of real shock at just how big a number “a trillion” is. Continue Reading…