Regarding Numbers

Aight, in honor of the start of the school year, here's a multiple choice question for you.


Which number is more newsworthy?

a) 2.4 trillion
b) 15 trillion
c) 20
d) 29,000

Go ahead, choose an answer.
















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According to the number of news stories, the most newsworthy answer, provided by Google news in a search for each number, is the following:


1) 14.3 trillion - 16,965 articles

The current level of the US debt. Well, I guess it use to be the current level, a bit higher now...more newsworthy than pretty much everything out there.


2) 2.4 trillion: 11,534 articles

This is in regard to the amount of dollars the US will 'save' over the next 10 years. A deal months in the making, both sides exhibited more stubbornness than Balam's ass, neither wanting to infuriate the people that put them in office. Of course, congress' dissaproval rating is now a rocking 82%. Well done guys, well done.



3) 20 soldiers killed - 6,581 articles

Newsworthy because this is the same squad responsible for Osama Bin Laden's death.



4) The least significant number, by the numbers: 

29,000 - 1953 articles: 

29,000 Somalian children under the age of 5 have starved to death in the past 90 days. I broke out a calculator and did the math. That's roughly 322 deaths a day for the past three months, which is about the length of time its taken congress to decide to go another few trillion in debt. 

Apparently there's a famine going on there, and its bad. This is compounded by the fact that there are many areas under control of terrorists, until recently leaving aid agencies unable to enter for fear of both the terrorists and legal prosecution of the US (since we can't be giving aid to terrorists). 

Now here is the kicker: 

Which story has you concerned about your 'discretionary spending'? 

Or is that unavailable since the Visa is maxed out?