PayPal Credits Man With $92 Quadrillion 151
solareagle writes "Pennsylvania resident Chris Reynolds got quite a shock when he opened his most recent PayPal statement — it said he had a $92,233,720,368,547,800 balance in his account. 'I'm just feeling like a million bucks,' Reynolds told the [Philadelphia] Daily News yesterday. 'At first I thought that I owed quadrillions. It was quite a big surprise.' When asked what he would do with the money, he said, 'I would pay the national debt down first. Then I would buy the Phillies, if I could get a great price.' The Daily News speculates that the astronomical balance may be related to PayPal's new Galactic initiative, announced last month, to expand its business beyond Earth."
He should have quickly minted a new coin.
Re:Signed integer overflow (Score:2, Insightful)
Because we should all have exactly the same tastes in literature and/or television.
How wonderfully inclusive of you!
P.S.
No, I didn't get the reference. My brain vaguely recalls a Sherlock Holmes reference (father? brother?), but I've only read a few of the stories....
Re:Signed integer overflow (Score:2, Insightful)
...and anybody who doesn't get the reference should be drummed off the site.
But then what would the two of you talk about, and who would be there to moderate?
Listen, I get it, too many kids on the lawn and such. Personally, I've exchanged the not-quite-timeless phrase "get off my lawn" with the more apropo "no skateboarding".
Though I do appreciate that I've now looked up Mycroft Holmes and was surprised to find it wasn't the agoraphobic brother of the late, great (and I do mean great) John Holmes.
uh oh (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:there's not that much money in the world! (Score:3, Insightful)
The question the becomes, are we at risk of inflation if we helicopter-drop billions of dollars on the people? Maybe. Maybe not.
Our president blows a billion$$$ every day on gas money; helicopter-dropping a few billion would probably have no appreciable effect.
Frankly, the $1.5 trillion stimulus would have probably been better if he had divided the $1 trillion by $230 million people, and given every American individuals an equal amount, excluding individuals earning more than $80,000, and excluding individuals part of a married couple where the couple's earnings exceed $120,000 ; in other words.... approximately $40,000 extra money to be received by every American; instead of throwing away the $1 trillion on crappy programs and tax breaks for corporations.
Re:What would happen with a national debt of $0? (Score:4, Insightful)
Probably all of these answers, but in the end, one thing we know for sure: if you paid the debt today, it would be back tomorrow.