179 Round Trips to the Moon & 7 Other Things You Could Do in the Time Since Senate Democrats Last Passed a Budget
January 22, 2013
General
Will Senate Democrats ever pass a budget? The last time they tackled “the most basic responsibility of governing” was on April 29, 2009. With the House set to vote on a “no budget, no pay” bill this week, the Speaker’s office has a new graphic showing just some of the things that could be done in a similar four-year span. For example:
- The Keystone XL energy project would create thousands of jobs – and you could construct the whole thing, all 1,179 miles of it … twice (if the president stopped blocking it, of course).
- Need a vacation? How about a cross-country trip from Key West, FL to Seattle, WA? You could make the drive 684 times, even if you stop at a few ATMs along the way.
- Can’t comprehend the magnitude of our $16 trillion debt or how spending is the “driving force” behind it? You could earn a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Chicago in less time than it’s taken Senate Democrats to pass a budget.
- It took 491 days from September 1941 to January 1943 to construct the Pentagon - the largest office building in the world - from start to finish. You could build three of them.
- If you follow the same plan as the crew of Apollo 11, you could fly to the moon and back 179 times.
- The United States declared war and led the Allies to victory over the Axis powers in less time than it’s taken Senate Democrats to pass a budget.
- Car trips not your thing? How about a balloon ride? You could float across the globe nonstop in a hot-air balloon approximately 73 times.
- If you’re in peak physical (superhuman) condition, you could make “the five day summit push” up Mt. Everest 292 times.
Click here for a high-res version of the graphic above.