mrjjj
mrjjj
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March 19th, 2012 at 5:11:00 PM permalink
I usually get two answers for this, maybe someone can shed a bit more light on it. Does our national debt INCLUDE what we owe to China?

Ken
Triplell
Triplell
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March 19th, 2012 at 5:34:46 PM permalink
Unless the figure explicitly states "Doesn't include debt owed to china", I do not understand why it wouldn't...
MathExtremist
MathExtremist
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March 19th, 2012 at 6:51:00 PM permalink
Yes. Total debt = debt held by public + debt held by internal (US) government programs, like Social Security. The first part is what China holds.

I can't seem to embed the image, but see this link and this chart, showing China and Japan as the two largest single foreign debtholders.

Edit: perhaps a more interesting question would be "what *isn't* counted in the debt figures?
"In my own case, when it seemed to me after a long illness that death was close at hand, I found no little solace in playing constantly at dice." -- Girolamo Cardano, 1563
mrjjj
mrjjj
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March 19th, 2012 at 7:01:03 PM permalink
Good info, thanks fellas.

Ken
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