Does China own the U.S.?

The far left and far right are slamming President Obama's $3.7 trillion budget, which troubles the Chinese because half of that budget is earmarked to repay U.S. debt to China.

Did you believe that? Did you see how craftily we worked a whopper into an otherwise factual statement? Mention U.S. debt and China in the same sentence and it seems many citizens are eager to suspend reason. "China owns us, by golly," some contend, but it just isn't true.

China has a horrific record of human rights violations. Their government is still communist, and the country's pollution is staggering. At the negotiations table, the Chinese drive a hard bargain.

But according to a recent study by the Congressional Budget Office, they sure as heck don't own us.

When Glenn Beck or the latest e-mail forwarder laments our loss of freedom to the Chinese and impending takeover of our nation, consider these details:

• Our nation's debt will soon break $10 trillion for the first time.

• That debt is held by the public - a public that literally spans the globe - in the form of Treasury notes.

• About 53 percent of the U.S. debt is held by U.S. citizens, with individuals holding the largest single chunk - about 12 percent. The Federal Reserve holds 9 percent, while the rest is divided between pension and retirement funds, mutual funds, and state and local governments.

• Of the remaining roughly 47 percent, the Chinese do hold the biggest slice: 9.8 percent. That's a lot, but it is not the preponderance some would have you believe. Japan is next with 9.6 percent, followed by the United Kingdom at 5.1 percent.

There are some big issues here. The biggest is that the U.S. must end the deficit spending that dug this $10 trillion hole. And that leads to the next issue, which is standing firm and cutting wisely even though it hurts; failing to cut will make it hurt a lot worse further down the road.

The Chinese own less than 10 percent of our national debt. Yes, that's an uncomfortable amount, but it is not the financial, political or moral apocalypse that some fear-mongers would have you believe.