Home

ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 14, 2004

NEW YORK – The national debt clock, a billboard-size sign that reminded Manhattan passers-by of how much the government is borrowing – in trillions of dollars – has been taken down.

A new high-tech digital clock will be erected a block north, just east of Times Square, the sign's owner said Tuesday. The building where the old clock had been hung is being demolished.

The last time the clock went dark was in September 2000, when developer Douglas Durst pulled the plug after government debt levels started to fall because of budget surpluses. It was restarted two years later, when government deficits began to rise again.

The clock initially was put up in 1989 by Durst's late father, Seymour Durst, to bring attention to what he felt was a dangerous increase in government borrowing.

When the debt clock first was turned on, the deficit was a little less than $3 trillion. Durst's family pulled the plug in 2000 when falling deficits hit $5.5 trillion.

The clock read more than $7 trillion when it was taken down last month.

More News:

4-12-04 Study: Audits of Businesses Down Last Year

4-12-04 California Amnesty Bill Targets Collection of Unpaid Taxes

4-12-04 Consumers Prefer Long-Term, Fixed-Rate Mortgage

4-12-04 Credit card 'freebie' comes with a price

4-12-04 DuPont's Cost Cutting Slashes 3,500 Jobs

4-12-04 Kerry's uses 'misery index' to hit Bush on economy

4-12-04 Preemptive selling hurts Treasuries ahead of data

4-12-04 Rising property taxes scare off homeowners

4-12-04 Strong Earnings Send Dow, Nasdaq Higher

4-12-04 Tax created to go after rich now hitting middle class

4-12-04 Treasury Sec: OPEC Output Cuts Unwelcome

4-12-04 US agencies steady before new data, Freddie debt

4-12-04 Tax Time is a Good Time to Examine Your Financial Plan

4-12-04 U.S. mortgage rates unchanged on Monday

Financial News