The
term national debt refers to direct liabilities of the United States Government.
There are several different concepts of debt that are at various times used
to refer to the national debt:
Public debtis defined as public debt
securities issued by the U.S. Treasury. U. S. Treasury
securities primarily consist of marketable Treasury
securities (i.e., bills, notes and bonds), savings bonds
and special securities issued to state and local governments
(State and Local Government Series securities, or SLGS).
A portion is debt held by the public and a portion is
debt held by government accounts.
Debt held by the public excludes the portion
of the debt that is held by government accounts.
Gross federal debtis made
up of public debt securities and a small amount of securities issued
by government agencies.
Debt held by the public is the most meaningful of these concepts and measures
the cumulative amount outstanding that the government has borrowed to finance
deficits.
What
is the National Debt?
The
term national debt refers to direct liabilities of the United States Government.
There are several different concepts of debt that are at various times used
to refer to the national debt: