All this talk about "stimulus packages" and "bailouts"...

A billion dollars...
A hundred billion dollars...
Eight hundred billion dollars...
One TRILLION dollars...

What does that look like? I thought I'd take Google Sketchup out for a test drive and try to get a sense of what exactly a trillion dollars looks like.

Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.



While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet...



And finally...ladies and gentlemen...I give you $1 trillion.




(And notice those pallets are double stacked.)
So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase "trillion dollars"... that's what they're talking about.