President Obama and Congress are currently in the middle of preventing America from taking a ride on the Fiscal Cliff, the new man-made, preventable thrill ride all 300+ million of us Americans might be, um, “enjoying” if they don’t sit down, grow up and act like adults.
So far, the numbers coming out of the negotiations are quite… how do I put this… low. Currently, according to numbers from CNBC, the deal will raise $600 billion in new revenue in 10 years.
Let’s play my new favorite game show… FUN WITH MATH!!!
*grabs the ‘ol trusty TI-83 calculator from 8th grade*
$600 billion in revenue over 10 years. That’s $60 billion a year. Our federal budget is $3.8 trillion a year. That means this new stream of income will cover an entire 1.6% of that. If you had $10,000 of personal credit debt, that’s like putting an additional $160 on that debt ever year.
Um, a high school prom committee can cut a better deal on a limo than Congress can cut on a budget deal with the President.
Speaking of high school, classes were better with visuals. So let’s use a visual because #YOLO.
If we were to compare this in terms we can all relate to, coffee left in our morning coffee cup, it might look something like this…
…and that’s being generous.
Kids, just remember… When going over the Fiscal Cliff, make sure your safety belt is securely fastened and your arms and legs are inside the vehicle at all times.
Thank you for riding America, the world’s financial nightmare.