What is a Billion?

Another email I got from my dad that I thought made a good point.

Now you know why our country is brokeThis is too scary to be very funny!The next time you hear a politician use theword "billion" in a casual manner, think aboutwhether you want the "politicians" spending OUR tax money.A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,but one advertising agency did a good job ofputting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.
A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the StoneAge.D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at therate our government is spending it.While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take alook at New Orleans It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division . . ..Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking theCongress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number,what does it mean?A. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you each get $516,528.B. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans ,your home gets $1,329,787.C. Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.Washington, D.C .. HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculatorsbroken??Tax his land,Tax his wage,Tax his bed in whi ch he lays.Tax his tractor,Tax his mule,Teach him taxes is the rule. Tax his cow,Tax his goat,Tax his pants,Tax his coat.Tax his ties,Tax his shirts,Tax his work,Tax his dirt.Tax his tobacco,Tax his drink,Tax him if he tries to think.Tax his booze,Tax his beers,If he cries,Tax his tears.Tax his bills,Tax his gas,Tax his notes,Tax his cash.Tax him good and let him knowThat after taxes, he has no dough.If he hollers,Tax him more,Tax him until he's good and sore.Tax his coffin,Tax his grave,Tax the sod in which he lays.Put these words upon his tomb,"Taxes drove me to my doom!"And when he's gone,We won't relax,We'll still be after the inheritance TAX!!Accounts Receivable TaxBuilding Permit TaxCDL License TaxCigarette TaxCorporate Income Tax Dog License TaxFederal Income TaxFederal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)Fishing License TaxFood License TaxFuel Perm it TaxGasoline TaxHunting License TaxInheritance TaxInventory TaxIRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax), IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax),Liquor Tax,Luxury Tax,Marriage License Tax,Medicare Tax,Property Tax,Real Estate Tax,Service charge taxes,Soci a l Security Tax,Road Usage Tax (Truckers), Sales Taxes,Recreational Vehicle Tax,School Tax,State Income Tax,State Unemployment Tax (SUTA),Telephone Federal Excise Tax,Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax,Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax, Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax,Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax,Telephone State and Local Tax,Telephone Usage Charge Tax,Utility Tax,Vehicle License Registration Tax,Vehicle Sales Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax,Well Permit Tax,Workers Compensation Tax.
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation wasthe most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle classin the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.What happened? Can you spell 'politicians!And I still have to "press 1" for English.I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times
What the Hell happened?????