National Debt Clock

Seymour's son Douglas said in 2006 that the clock was a non-partisan effort to think about intergenerational equity: "We're a family business. We think generationally, and we don't want to see the next generation crippled by this burden." Sources disagree on the exact amounts mentioned in the cards; The New York Times mentions a figure of $35,000, ==First clock==

The first National Debt Clock was installed on February 20, 1989. The national debt stood at that year. The original clock was constructed at a cost of $100,000. Durst vowed that the clock would "be up as long as the debt or the city lasts," and that "if it bothers people, then it's working." Artkraft Strauss has been keeping the figures current since then. In 1998, the clock broke down shortly after the numbers surpassed $5.5 (~$ in ) trillion. The cause was attributed to the numbers "being too high." In response, Artkraft installed a new computer inside the clock. In September, the clock was unplugged and covered with a red-white-and-blue curtain, with the national debt standing at roughly $5.7 trillion. starting at $6.1 trillion. ==Second clock==

In 2004, the original clock was moved from its location near 42nd Street, and the building where the sign had been mounted was demolished so the Bank of America Tower could be built. An updated model was installed one block away on the side of a Durst building at 1133 Avenue of the Americas, facing Sixth Avenue near the southeast corner of the intersection with West 44th Street. The new clock is located next to an Internal Revenue Service office. The new clock, which can run backward, is outfitted with a brighter seven-segment display with multiple LEDs per segment, allowing the numbers to be read more easily. In the farthest-left space, the debt clock displayed the digit "1" in place of the dollar sign. An overhaul or complete replacement adding two more digits to the clock's display was being planned . The clock would be able to show a debt of up to $1 quadrillion. , Douglas Durst's cousin Jonathan "Jody" Durst was taking over the day-to-day operations as president. In an interview with The New York Times, Jonathan said that maintenance of the clock is planned "for years to come." In June 2017, the Durst Organization announced that the National Debt Clock would be moved again so that a new entrance for 1133 Avenue of the Americas could be built. The clock was moved to the western side of the Bank of America Tower, facing an alley in the middle of the block between Sixth Avenue and Broadway. It was reinstalled in its new location in November 2017. ==Similar projects==

'' The idea of conveying a message through a periodically updated clock found an earlier expression in the Doomsday Clock. However, the innovation of the National Debt Clock was to feature a constantly running counter; it has since inspired similar projects elsewhere, both in the United States and further afield. In particular, it has become a national fixture shows that the U.S.'s increasing debt. By 1995, the New York Times reported that politicians were citing the clock to advocate for a reduction to the national budget. In 2010, a "death clock" modelled after the debt clock was erected in Times Square, counting how many maternal deaths happen worldwide every 90 seconds. Two displays related to the national debt were shown during the 2012 Republican National Convention. One of the displays showed a ticking number similar to the original clock. The second display showed a number estimating the amount the national debt had increased since the start of the convention. According to the Republican Party, the purpose of the RNC's clock was to underscore the fact that national debt had grown at a fast pace under the presidency of Barack Obama, who was then running for reelection. RNC chair Reince Priebus said that the clock represented the "unprecedented fiscal recklessness of the Obama administration." ==In popular culture==

The clock is featured in the 2006 documentary Maxed Out, which is about national debt. Several members of the Durst family appear in the film. The clock is mentioned on the April 4, 2021, episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, "The National Debt". The episode talks about the national debt and how the clock was started by "the Durst family. Yes, THAT Durst family." ==See also==