How much debt is america actually in?

Question

Ive heard they are in around 3 trillion dollars but i cant find anywhere on the internet that gives me a straight answer. Anyone got any ideas?

Answer 1

From the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt, as of December 19 2007, the Total Public Debt Outstanding is 9,145,592,196,667.69 broken down as follows:

Debt Held by the Public 5,150,625,190,958.50
Intragovernmental Holdings 3,994,967,005,709.19

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

Answer 2

depends on how you measure

actual debt outstanding is easy to find, but America has promises it has made that will require money to pay which isn't there. So, is the country like a corporation and has to disclose the current value of the actuarial deficit in its benefit plans or is it able to make those disappear in the wink of an eye by simply killing the Social Security, MediCare, and MediCaid programs?

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how about assets? the country owns lots of transportation infrastructure which is on the books as zero. Surely the bridges alone are worth something?? plus the roads, ports, airports, waterways, dams, etc.

Answer 3

Out national debt is 9.7 trillion dollars and only going to get worse.

Answer 4

Actually it does not matter so much what America has as a National debt, suffice to say if it were a business it would be bankrupt both fiscally and morally

Answer 5

i think it is more and is set to get worse

go to the world bank you may find out there

Answer 6

Who do they borrow from?

I thought America just took what they wanted.

Answer 7

a lot. expect your taxes to go up real soon.

Answer 8

It is about $9,000,000,000,000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_States