Sunday, January 15, 2012

.America’s deficit chart surplus By Alex Pareene / Salon

Friday, Aug 5, 2011 2:01 PM 12:38:16 PST

America’s deficit chart surplus

The wide world of partisan, contradictory, occasionally helpful federal debt-explaining infographics

America's deficit chart surplus
Are you writing something about the massive federal deficit? Do you want a hot blogging tip? Here you go: Put a chart on it!
I can explain the magnitude of the federal debt pretty easily: The recession caused revenue to plummet, and tax rates have been very low for years. Plus wars. But I explained that with words. Who reads words? No one, unless those words have lines next to them, or colored bars.
The New York Times made a chart blaming Bush for the debt, and it was so popular that it made another one that added a line explaining whom we owe the debt to. (Ourselves, mostly.) The White House made a chart that was basically the New York Times chart but with Bush’s additions to the debt in red, for Republicanness. (Though a lot of it was gray, for “no one’s fault, really, debt just happens.”)

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