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I'm Drew Breunig and I obsess about technology, media, language, and culture. I live in New York, studied anthropology, and work in advertising technology.

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Irresponsible reporters visualize the US debt without visualizing the US GDP.

Dollar bills stacked next to the Statue of Liberty make spectacular visuals and communicate the size of the debt to people who can’t comprehend billions or trillions of dollars. But architectural contexts only illustrate size; they don’t relate to the debt number to any factors that actually matter.

Debt is related to factors like employment, industries, and other indicators of economic robustness. If you’re seeking to scare people, visualize dollar bills against whatever symbol of largess you wish. If you wish to educate people, contextualize debt with something actually related to it.

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  1. peachsss said: Well put, I can’t seem to remember the last time media outlets have chosen to be informative though. Most are just political stepping stools for the two opposing parties, or even weapons in cases such as this.
  2. dbreunig posted this