Comments on: Tim Watkin

By: Pogo

Pogo — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:55:42 +0000

Good old Grauniad, they’re simply carrying on the grand old tradition espoused by the unions in “Red Robbo’s” era, where it was a well-known fact that the money to pay the wages was printed in the payroll office.

By: Monty

Monty — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:08:41 +0000

“How elsedoes anyone expect them to make a profit so as to pay us our interest?”

Well Timmy, perhaps they think all those banknotes get together and make baby banknotes after dark, when the staff go home.

By: Mark Wadsworth

Mark Wadsworth — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 17:12:55 +0000

Andrew, no, that must have been TimW. I never use the words “Brit” or “British” as they are meaningless.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:24:41 +0000

The problem with the british billion was hardly anything was large enough to use it. It might have a change nowadays with inflation etc.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:01:13 +0000

You’re confusing deficits with debt. The US public debt is still rising, despite the deficit falling.

By: Andrew Paterson

Andrew Paterson — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:00:45 +0000

Did you just answer your own question Mark?

By: Mark Wadsworth

Mark Wadsworth — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:31:55 +0000

Sorry, “trillion to mean 1,000,000,000″

No. Actually, it was the other way around. What Americans used to call a trillion we Brits called a Billion. But usage has now converged on US usage. 1,000,000 million, 1,000,000,000 billion, 1,000,000,000,000 trillion.

It’s a typo though, as if you look at his para one up from the quote he gets it right.

By: Mark Wadsworth

Mark Wadsworth — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:31:32 +0000

Don’t the Amercians say triliion to mean 1,000,000 and billion to mean 1,000,000,000,000?