How Much Debt Does the U.S. Government Owe?

Rebecca Friedman and Mark Wright

Chicago Fed Letter, 2016, No 353

Abstract: The U.S. government is often referred to as the world?s biggest debtor. But how much debt does it owe? A visit to the website of the U.S. Department of the Treasury yields a bewildering array of different measures of U.S. federal government debt. Although the gross debt of the U.S. federal government is approaching $18 trillion, the debt that is subject to the debt limit is a few billion dollars smaller, while debt in the hands of the public is less than $13 trillion.

Keywords: Debt; government debt (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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