Newsletter
How Much Debt Does the U.S. Government Owe?
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;
Access Documents
File(s):
File format is application/pdf
https://www.chicagofed.org/~/media/publications/chicago-fed-letter/2016/cfl353-pdf.pdf
Description: Full text
Authors
Bibliographic Information
Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Part of Series: Chicago Fed Letter
Publication Date: 2016
Order Number: 353