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Lowry, Ralph. “Q&A: Gross Debt versus Debt Held by the Public.” Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, https://www.crfb.org/papers/qa-gross-debt-versus-debt-held-public. 

Direct Quote: Of the $23.6 trillion of debt held by the public, we estimate about 34 percent is owned by foreign entities, 43 percent by private and public domestic entities, and 23 percent by the Federal Reserve Bank. The Federal Reserve has significantly expanded its Treasury holdings since the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis began in 2020. Foreign holdings come from a mixture of foreign individuals, businesses, banks, and governments. Of the roughly $7.9 trillion of foreign-held debt, 17 percent ($1.3 trillion) is held by Japan and 14 percent ($1.1 trillion) is held by China. The next largest holders are the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Luxembourg, who each hold between $320 billion and $560 billion of U.S. debt. On a combined basis, the Eurozone holds about $1.3 trillion, and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Country (OPEC) member nations together hold about $250 billion.

Summary/My Interpretation: As the US has continued to amass debt, they find themselves owing different actors large sums of money. Specifically, while it is often believed that foreign nations are the largest holders of US debt, this is not true. In fact, the majority of US debt is held by domestic actors as they are the consumer base the US most prefers selling to. Additionally, large nations such as Japan and China also play a role in the US debt as they hold nearly $2.5 trillion in US securities. 

How I Plan To Use This In My Project: One of the main goals of my project besides examining how the debt affects the middle class is being able to provide an overview of the figure and explain where exactly it came from. I hope to use this article to explain who has a stake in the US debt crisis as well as show the different actors that are contributing to a ballooning deficit.

Lowry, Ralph. “Q&A: Gross Debt versus Debt Held by the Public.” Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, https://www.crfb.org/papers/qa-gross-debt-versus-debt-held-public. 

Direct Quote: Most economists regard debt held by the public – particularly as a share of GDP – as the most economically meaningful measure of debt. Debt held by the public measures the amount of U.S. debt held by entities other than the federal government and traded publicly. It is thus relevant for understanding the extent to which debt is providing fiscal stimulus, crowding out private investment, influencing interest rates, and consuming fiscal space. 

Summary/My Interpretation: The best measure that a person can use to evaluate the extent to which the debt is affecting the economy is the amount of debt held by the public. In general, this type of debt is responsible for stifling economic growth through crowding out the private sector and causing interest rates to increase. 

How I Plan To Use This In My Project: Overall, I hope to use this article as a way to give more credibility to my means of measurement. Specifically, I plan to analyze the amount of debt held by the public and focus on that figure more heavily than other types of debt that the government may hold. Furthermore, the article provides the underlying reason as to why the US debt crisis is expected to become more dire in the future.

Uzan, Gilbert. “Greece’s Debt Crisis.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, https://www.cfr.org/timeline/greeces-debt-crisis-timeline. 

Direct Quote: Greece receives its final loan from European creditors, completing a bailout program begun in 2015, the country’s third since 2010. In total, Greece now owes the EU and IMF roughly 290 billion euros ($330 billion), part of a public debt that has climbed to 180 percent of GDP. 

Summary/My Interpretation: Greece in recent years has suffered one of the worst financial crises. In fact,experts often believe that the primary cause of the Greek financial crisis is the large sums of debt the nation accumulated immediately preceding its economic drop. 

How I Plan To Use This In My Project: Overall, I hope to use what happened in Greece as a means to estimate both what the US future looks like as well as a tipping point at which the debt starts to significantly stifle economic growth. Specifically, I hope to talk about how the Greek financial situation became much worse when the nation reached a public debt to gdp ratio of 150%. 

Roberts, Angela. “Our National Debt: $28 Trillion and Counting.” U.S. Money Reserve, 10 Feb. 2022, https://www.usmoneyreserve.com/news/executive-insights/our-national-debt-28-trillion-and-counting/. 

Graph: 

Summary/My Interpretation: One of the most important trends in the federal debt is examining who exactly this burden falls on. The federal debt is divided into the debt held by the US treasury and the debt held by the public. In recent years, the amount of debt held by the public has skyrocketed and has passed a 1:1 ratio with the US gdp in 2020. This figure is expected to rise to 200% within the next 25 years.

How I Plan To Use This In My Project: When discussing the debt, those who are against taking immediate action often cite the fact that the debt has not impacted daily life. However, this statement is inaccurate due to the assumption that it makes. Specifically, up until 2020 the vast majority of debt was held by the US Treasury. I plan to use this article to explain how the burden of the debt is increasingly shifting to the public, meaning that its impacts will be more severe and apparent in the near future.

“How Does Social Security Work?” Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Peter G. Peterson Foundation, 19 Apr. 2023, https://www.pgpf.org/budget-basics/how-does-social-security-work. 

Graph: 

Summary/My Interpretation: One of the most controversial social programs in the US is the existence of social security. More specifically, while the program provides a function many deem essential, it receives much criticism due to the fact that it runs a huge deficit. It is estimated that Social Security alone will contribute nearly $2.9 trillion to the federal deficit if the program remains on its current track.
How I Plan To Use This In My Project: I plan to use this graph to explain why social security will be one of the first programs to be cut if the debt continues to grow. By demonstrating how much the program contributes to the deficit, I can then explain more clearly why the US government would want to cut this program first.