Who Owns the U.S. National Debt? Essay -- Obamas National Debt

"Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt." -- Herbert Hoover A recent topic for political debate, and one that is usually included in most political rhetoric, is the national debt, and the debt ceiling crisis. I believe that there are many misconceptions about this issue, and that politicians use and promote these misconceptions for the purpose of making political arguments. The example of this that sticks out for me is a commercial I saw on television that seems to depict a future where the US has presumably been taken over by China. That commercial seemed a little extreme, so for this paper, I seek to correct these sorts of misconceptions, or to at least show that some arguments about the national debt are a little wrong. Probably the most important misconception about the national debt is the misconception that China owns most of the national debt, and that such a situation makes the United States government a puppet to China. The latter misconception doesn't take much research to see as an exaggeration of the truth. Unlike personal debt, national debt isn't enforced by some higher power. Money owed to China is a deal between the borrower and China, and there aren't any higher powers to force the collection of debts. If China wanted to collect on that debt, the worst they could do is to go to war, and that's rather unrealistic. The main problem with this idea that China owns our government, is the fact that China's share of the national debt isn't as big as people seem to think. For this paper, I took a survey from 12 people. I asked them each, "How much of the national debt do you think is owned by China?" Of those people, 3 thought China owned more than 60 percent of the national debt, 4 though... ... to do. To conclude, the national debt is indeed an important issue that needs to be discussed, but it is important also to not take what you hear about it in political arguments as fact. Knowing the truth about issues like this can help you better understand what politicians are really saying, and will help you avoid being manipulated by fear tactics like that commercial about a Chinese-dominated future. Works Cited Historical Data on the Federal Debt. Rep. N.p.: Congressional Budget Office, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. . Surowiecki, James. "Smash the Ceiling." The New Yorker. N.p., 1 Aug. 2011. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. "Who Really Owns the U.S. National Debt?" Townhall Finance. N.p., 21 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. Herbert Hoover Quote http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/national_debt.html#SP3YaWVBGy0KE3ET.99