The next time you hear a politician use the words "billion" casually, think about whether you want that politician spending your tax dollars.A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into perspective:

A billion seconds ago, it was 1959.

A billion minutes ago, Jesus was alive.

A billion hours ago, our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate Washington spends it.