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/biz/ - Business & Finance

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19844764 No.19844764 [Reply] [Original]

I barely know shit about debt and stuff, but does someone have some time to spare to explain me to whom (be it a company, a country or a category) the USA owes money to? I don't mind just a quick link or answer, as long as I can have a source.

>> No.19844778

>>19844764
china

>> No.19844829

>>19844764
the purchasers/redeemers of US debt. Short term and long term debt is sold in the form of bills/notes/bonds/etc, and whoever buys the IOU can redeem it when it comes to term. Anyone who purchases these directly from the treasury, governments, or even retail investors with exposure to these debt instruments in the form of mutual funds or ETFs is "owed" the money. US debt/capita represents the amount of debt the US government issues per citizen.

>> No.19844882

>>19844829
I got told that the US owes a fuckton of money to intragovernmental holdings (which I understand as foreign companies), but also the public. What you just said, is that an explanation to the latter? Or am I just being retarded

>> No.19844917
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19844917

>> No.19844933

>>19844882
both. many times the debt/capita will be discussed as "public debt" (sort of is since the US govt is just issuing on the faith of the US federal taxing power of its constituents), but a fuck ton of foreign governments, institutions, and even local (county, municipality, or state) hold a fuck ton of federal debt as well.

>> No.19844961
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19844961

>>19844882

Yes, stuff like "social security" is really just some arbitrary amount set aside.

>> No.19844975

>>19844917
Thanks
>>19844933
I see. Is it just called "public debt" because there are too many subcategories and also to assure the public/population their tax money is being used for good purposes or am I just worrying myself too much right now? I went to this board purely for the interaction I could have with people from hobbyist to professional experiences

>> No.19845022

>>19844961
Oh, I confused intra- for inter- and thought intragovernmental would mean something like across or between two or more governmental parties, but it's more of an issue within the USA instead of the USA and some other country.

>> No.19845072

>>19844778

China only holds about a trillion, <5%, but japan owns about the same amount.

>>19844975

A lot of the debt is very arbitrary. Future payments for some programs are considered debt while others are not. It also gets weird when you consider the total debt is about 5x the amount of real dollars that even exists. That is if the US government collected every dollar in existence it would still owe $20 trillion.

In a fiat monetary system the government can expand the money supply by a spending deficit, so the debt essentially becomes just a factor of how much the money supply has been expanded from some arbitrary starting point.

>> No.19845180

>>19844882
Most holders of US debt are just US citizens, or institutions that represent US citizens (funds of various stripes). External countries hold US debt because holding those T-bills allows those countries to devalue their currency relative to the dollar, improving manufacturing competitiveness.

>> No.19846187

bump for good thread on biz

>> No.19846356

>>19844764
>the USA owes money to?
Rothschild family and their allies
>I don't mind just a quick link or answer, as long as I can have a source.
Read "The Creature from Jekyll Island" by Edward Griffin

>> No.19847292

bump