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The Silliest Chart You'll See In The Paul Ryan Debt Plan
http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-ryan-chart-on-who-owns-our-debt-2012-8n order to promote his "Roadmap" for his national debt reduction plan, Wisconsin Representative and Mitt Romney running mate Paul Ryan put out a set of scare charts on what happens if the size of the U.S. debt grows unchecked.
The silliest, most meaningless chart of the bunch is this one on Who Owns The National Debt.
The message he's trying to convey is clear: More and more the U.S. is going cap-in-hand abroad to fund government spending. The Chinese (whom Mitt Romney has accused of not trading fairly with us) own a huge chunk. Ergo we're at their mercy.
This is a popular notion, and a candidate running on a scare platform is wise to tell this story, but the story is nonsense on stilts.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-ryan-chart-on-who-owns-our-debt-2012-8#ixzz23PoYLu00