MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US spiraling debt clock in Times Square runs out of digits

The National Debt Clock in NY

United States government's debts have ballooned so badly the National Debt Clock in New York has run out of digits to record the spiraling figure.

The digital counter marks the national debt level, but when that passed the 10 trillion USD point last month, the sign could not display the full amount. The board was erected to highlight the 2.7 trillion USD level of debt in 1989. The clock's owners say two more zeros will be added, allowing the clock to record a quadrillion dollars of debt. Douglas Durst, son of the late Seymour Durst - the clock's inventor - hopes to replace the Manhattan clock with its lengthier replacement early next year. For the time being, the Times Square counter's electronic dollar sign has been replaced with the extra digit required. For its part, the digital dollar symbol has been supplanted by a cheaper version - perhaps a sign of the times for the US economy. Some economists believe the 700 billion USD bail-out plan for ailing US financial institutions could send the national debt level to 11 trillion. The United States GDP in 2007 was estimated in 13.8 trillion USD.