It's Supposed to be Funny, but Do We Really Need to Bring China Into the Debt Ceiling Clown Show?

That's what folks should be asking John Stewart. The United States as a country owes China money because it has a trade deficit. The trade deficit means that United States would be borrowing from China even if it had a balanced budget, as for example was the case in 1999 and 2000. The fact that China happens to hold a lot of Treasury bonds simply is the result of what U.S. assets they choose to hold. They could, and do, also buy private bonds, stock and other assets.

Of course the trade...