When we talk about how billionaires shouldn’t exist I don’t think people really understand the massive difference in scale between a million and a billion. One million seconds is 12 days. A billion seconds is 31 years. It’s an unfathomable amount of money that no one should have. Even uber-rich mega millionaires - hundreds of millions - really shouldn’t exist. We need to tax the rich; they’re the real free loaders. They’re the drains on the economy. They’re the ones dragging society down.

@drhistorybrad

I was surprised to find that my dad, who used trigonometry daily in his trade, had just assumed that a billion was ten million. Mostly because he thought it would be ridiculous to have billionaires if it really was a thousand million.

At the end of that two day conversation, he reversed his approval of Thatcher and even the Conservative Party, and voted Labour at the next election.

@blogdiva

@EricLawton @drhistorybrad a REAL billion is a million millions. the USA gringolarchy created the lie of the 1,000 millions to inflate their worth. the EU doesn’t recorgnize the USA billion. they go by the original French number.

@blogdiva

I grew up in England with the "old" billions, but had to adopt US "billions" when I accidentally moved to Canada.

@drhistorybrad

@EricLawton @drhistorybrad totally sucks, doesn't it? UK used the old billions well into the 1970s if not 1980s, didntchall? the change is relatively recent.

@blogdiva

Definitely after I left in 1972.

Another side-effect of Thatcher?

@drhistorybrad

@EricLawton @drhistorybrad i think so, yes