Just to put the national debt in perspective; it is said from many sources
that all the gold that has been found to date in the world, if put in a
single block would measure 55 ft square. This is 166,375 cu ft. or
287,496,000 cu. in. Gold weighs .698 lbs. per cu. in. It would weigh 100,336
tons. At the current price of $397.50 per. oz. all the gold is worth 1.276
trillion dollars. This amount is 17% of our debt. I guess its a good thing
we're not on the gold standard anymore. This link shows the debt increase
per year from 1940 to present.

--
Dixon

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/faq.html