Like pretty much any graphic dealing with this situation, it gets plenty of things wrong. First off, government debt is hardly comparable to credit card debt; more like mortgage debt, but even lower interest. So a family with a $150k mortgage is hardly that crazy.

Furthermore, it assumes that current deficits are anything like the long-run average, which they are not. Cyclical adjustments are far larger in gov't budgets than in family budgets, with good reason.

That being said, obviously to crow about a few billion in savings here or there isn't a good idea, though actual economies are worthwhile regardless of the magnitude.