The US Government Owes Lots Of Money ... To Itself
by Christian Stellakis on Oct 30, 2014 | Views: 466 | Score: 2
| Department of the Treasury | Miscellaneous Small Agencies | Department of Labor | Deposit Insurance Fund | Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation | Department of Health and Human Services | Office of Personnel Management | Other Programs and Funds | Social Security | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount of Debt Held By Agency (US Treasury Bonds In USD) | 22700000000 | 25500000000 | 36100000000 | 42700000000 | 46500000000 | 220000000000 | 844800000000 | 1103000000000 | 2812000000000 |
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Sources:
useconomy.about.com
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About 30 percent of the total US federal debt falls under the category of intragovernmental holdings: money the government owes to itself. When certain government agencies take in more money than they currently need, they use the money to buy US treasury bonds. The Social Security Trust Fund holds the most bonds, totaling a whopping 2.8 trillion dollars of federal debt.
That plus our interest spending is only 6% of our budget (https://savvyroo.com/chart-12…). So is it wrong to think our debt is not as scary as the fear mongers make it out to be?
The total federal expenditures for 2014 was 3.5 trillion dollars, which is less than the five trillion dollars in intragovernmental holdings.
Meaning what? That we are running a deficit?
Well then heck, it's no big deal!LOL.
So, obviously this is an extremely complicated issue. Quite possibly the most important thing to consider regarding our debt is the fact that we hold debt in American dollars. Since the Fed has the power to create currency, there is virtually no risk of the US defaulting on debt. Still, I doubt you'll find many economists that advise a nation to print its way out of debt.