We owe us

Do the Chinese really “own us”?

Yes, we as a nation owe somebody a lot of money. The question is who is that somebody that we owe all this money? Most of them are U.S. citizens or U.S.-based institutions. At the end of 2010, about 53 percent of U.S. debt was held domestically. The largest owners were individuals – Treasury notes. U.S. individuals own 12 percent of the country’s debt. Next comes the Federal Reserve, which owns 9 percent, then comes pension and retirement funds, mutual funds and state and local governments.

Foreigners hold about 47 percent of U.S. public debt. Chinese investors are owed 9.8 percent of U.S. debt. Japan owns 9.6 percent and the United Kingdom 5.1 percent. Oil-exporting nations like Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, etc., accounts for about 2.6 percent of U.S. debt. Brazil has 1.8 percent. The rest is split among lots of other countries.

Yes, we owe a lot of money, but most of it to Americans, not Chinese.

Bill Shawl

Spokane