
America’s national debt currently stands at
$11 trillion, or about $36,000 per American. By 2012, at the end of Obama’s first term in office, the national debt will have risen by 26% to more than
$15 trillion. While Keynesian economists encourage deficit spending as a way to alleviate the negative effects of a recession, America’s ever ballooning debt is worrisome, as America can only continue to live beyond its means for so long. Already,
16.3% of the country’s total tax revenue is spent each year to service the debt.
Although most of America’s debt is owned by the U.S. government, since the 1980s, foreign ownership has skyrocketed. Today, foreign governments own about 25% of the debt. Leading the list is
China, with over $767.9 billion.
Japan, with $686.7 billion, is a close second.
Original image of the rolled hundred dollar bills by Gnerk.
> Continue Reading: Ownership of U.S. Foreign Debt