I keep hearing people make the
false statement that China owns the U.S. because we owe them. Most people can only point to comedians as
their source when making erroneous statement about the U.S. debt. For example, I got the following comment from
the comment section of a news article:
“Jay Leno had it right. Remember that China holds much
of America's national debt.
"When you get behind on your rent, next thing, the landlord shows up."
"When you get behind on your rent, next thing, the landlord shows up."
Also, the
following article is a quote from Jay Leno:
"According
to reports, Apple now has more cash on hand than the
U.S. government. Which sounds impressive until you realize that Radio Shack
has more cash on hand... Actually, the big difference between Apple and
the government is that their stuff is made in China, while we're owned by
China. Two different things." –Jay Leno
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Here is the
truth: The United States borrows most of its money from itself, a large
percentage of which is borrowed from the United States Social Security trust
fund. The U.S. owns 53% of the U.S.
public debt. China only owns 8% of total
US public debt (the debt we owe to china has been decreasing since 2010). The United States public debt is 69.4% of our
GDP ($15.16 trillion) which is a lower percentage than 31 other countries. The following countries have a public debt
percentage higher than the United States: Zimbabwe, Japan, Saints Kitts and
Nevis, Greece, Lebanon, Iceland, Antiqua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Italy, Singapore,
Ireland, Barbados, Portugal, Sudan, Belgium, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Egypt, France, Belize, Canada, Hungary, Germany, United Kingdom, Bhutan, Sri
Lanka, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Bahrain, Israel, Austria, Nicaragua.
A line should be
drawn when it comes to making jokes that are false about our nation’s economic
status. The Constitution does not
protect those knowingly making false statements. I am assuming that the comedians do not know
how the U.S. economy actually works. So,
if being uninformed is the case they should not make jokes about things they
don’t understand. All it takes is a
simple Google search to make sure that their jokes are not way off base. Comedians need to realize their influence on
the American people and take responsibility for the fact that they are swaying the public and our elections. And that fact is no laughing matter.