Federal Debt

One of my friends from China asked me how much of the federal debt was owed by the government to itself.

AMERICA'S federal debt is so vast that it is hard to think about: a few billion here or there seems to make little odds.

How much does this downgrade have to do with Congress' recent fight over the federal debt ceiling?

There is also uncertainty concerning taxes and spending, as I said, but the federal debt cannot be blamed primarily on this Administration.

SAY this about all the bickering over the federal debt ceiling: at least people are talking openly about our nation's growing debt load.

As federal debt climbs, an ever-greater fraction of the budget goes just to pay interest, much of it to overseas creditors.

If the US were to adhere to this yardstick, its banks would be forced to take up about 20 per cent of the overall federal debt stock.

This would not add to the federal debt in net terms and would reduce the interest burden, if not the absolute debt burden, of households.

It would be lovely to repeat that experience today, and send our federal debt off to that farm with Skip.

The average maturity of the federal debt is only four years and, hence, a quarter needs refinancing every year.

Ever since, federal debt has been backed by the full faith and credit of the entire United States (state debts are a different matter).

After months of talks Congress increased the limit on the federal debt ceiling to avoid a default just ahead of a Treasury deadline.

By then, the government will be about to bump up against the federal debt ceiling, any increase in which requires congressional approval.

So a fairer comparison would take account of gross American federal debt, which currently stands at 85% of GDP.

The massive federal debt would keep growing because, without restraining spending on retirees, there's no path to a balanced budget.

The ill-tempered struggle in Washington over raising the federal debt limit is enough to make anyone gloomy about the future of the US.

High oil prices. Europe's debt crisis. Unexpected inflation. Washington's bickering over the federal debt ceiling.

The short-term crisis is due to the rapid growth of federal debt outstanding that will soon hit the ceiling set by Congress.

It's not true, of course. Ronald Reagan said that his tax cuts would reduce deficits, then presided over a near-tripling of federal debt.

The political drama in Washington over raising the United States'federal debt ceiling has grabbed the world's attention.

The U. S. government is having no trouble financing its deficit, with interest rates on long-term federal debt under 3 percent.

Depending on their severity, federal debt restructurings for Greece and Spain could generate billions in losses for the ESCB.

Until now Mr Greenspan had been " gung ho " for using the budget surpluses to reduce the federal debt, so why the change of heart?

Readers who enjoy arithmetic can now answer a further question: what proportion of the federal debt is owed to foreigners?

The year of gridlock reached a low point in the midsummer showdown over the federal debt ceiling.

Now, though, the same firms are wielding immense power as the deadline for raising the federal debt limit looms.

Spiralling federal debt, high unemployment, and lower real wages have taken their toll on its self-esteem.

The very large contraction of private financing demand freed private saving to finance the explosion of federal debt.

That's going to increase the federal deficit and increase interest payments on the federal debt.

In his book, Clinton nicks Obama for not raising the federal debt ceiling in late 2010, when Democrats held both houses of Congress.

The growing federal debt will remain a time-bomb, but it won't explode during 2011.

The deficits are so large, in fact, that the ratio of federal debt to Gross Domestic Product approaches 70 percent.

Yes, the federal debt load is a $14. 5 trillion beast, a level that can't be sustained over the long term.

AIG will package life-insurance assets into bonds to give to the government, reducing its federal debt by the value of the bonds.

After all, the federal debt held by the public is currently 65 percent of GDP -- far lower than 1945 levels.

Federal debt as a percentage of G. D. P. fell steadily from the end of World War II until 1980.

It certainly will be extremely painful . . . Half the federal debt is held by foreigners.

The federal debt burden rose only slightly prior to the outbreak of the second world war.

State budgets will have to double to maintain current health programs. And then there is the frightening federal debt we will face.

Such massive supply of federal debt papers needs a buoyant treasury to absorb.

The American government reached the federal-debt ceiling of $14. 3 trillion.

The gross federal debt is just about to bust the $12, 100bn limit set by Congress.

By 2019, federal debt will amount to an amazing 83 percent of G. D. P. (before counting the costs of health reform and everything else).

But, a big step toward lessening the federal debt burden has just been taken.

As promised, the plan ultimately moves the government budget into surplus and reduces the federal debt (see chart).

By that year, interest payments alone on the federal debt will cost $803 billion.

On current policies the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reckons that the federal debt, now 62% of GDP, will hit 87% by 2020.

Such "entitlements" will double the federal debt by 2027; and the number keeps on rising after then.

The CBO projects that the federal debt as a share of the economy will double over the next decade, from about 41% last year to 82% by 2019.

The US House of Representatives has passed by 269 votes to 161 a last-gasp deal to avoid a federal debt default.

Initially, the legislation begins reducing the federal debt by $1 trillion over 10 years.

The chart below shows the US Federal Debt per person.

The first is the $12. 1 trillion federal debt limit, which will soon be reached unless Congress agrees to lift it.

The two groups share one aim: to get the federal debt down to 60% of GDP.

Other methods of accounting put U. S. federal debt closer to 65%.

The agency forecast that under current law publicly held federal debt would rise from an estimated 62% of GDP this year to 80% in 2035.

So why has federal debt been so chronic?

Federal debt held by the public has shot up to 62% of GDP, the highest it has been in over 50 years.

For example, they exclude any interest payments on federal debt, which add up to over $4 trillion since 1990.

After World War II, gross federal debt reached 122 percent of G. D. P. , the highest ratio on record.

One peculiarity of the debt limit is that it applies to the gross federal debt, much of which is held by the government itself.

Canada's federal debt has fallen from almost 70 percent to only 29 percent of GDP.

The federal debt held by the public was $8. 9 trillion in August 2010, or about 60% of GDP.

On current policies the publicly held federal debt, 41% of GDP last year, will double in the next decade (see article).

Publicly held federal debt has swelled to 61% of GDP, the highest since 1952.

Gross federal debt has more than doubled in ten years to $12. 9 trillion.

Some explanation: There's a legal limit to federal debt, which must be raised periodically if the government keeps running deficits;

An interactive chart from our colleagues at Congressional Quarterly shows who holds the federal debt

(In contrast, federal debt is around 85% of the U. S. 's GDP. )

Consider, for example, what the latest budget proposal from the Obama administration says about interest payments on federal debt;