silk & sand

...That used to be a huge number. But it's only a hundred billion. It's less than the national deficit! We used to call them astronomical numbers. Now we should call them economical numbers.

...said Richard Feynman (1918-1988), an American Nobel Laureate in (quantum) physics, who developed several theories related to quantum mechanics, particle physics, and the introduction of nanotechnology. He also worked on the Manhattan Project and the panel that investigated the Challenger disaster.

Interestingly (and perhaps, ironically) this quotation is from more than 30 years ago, and is clearly still applicable to today's economic situation (I hesitate to call it an economy at all anymore). Worse, in the time since Dr. Feynman wrote those words, we have managed to balance the national budget and still end up on a downward spiral towards a second stock market crash. Oy.