1. Public debt:
- Treasury bills: Short-term debt instruments with maturities of less than one year.
- Treasury notes: Medium-term debt instruments with maturities between 1 and 10 years.
- Treasury bonds: Long-term debt instruments with maturities greater than 10 years.
- Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS): Debt instruments that protect investors from inflation by adjusting the principal value based on the consumer price index.
2. Intragovernmental debt:
- Debt owed by the US government to itself, such as the Social Security Trust Fund and the Medicare Trust Fund.
3. Debt held by the Federal Reserve:
- Debt owed by the US government to the Federal Reserve, primarily through the purchase of Treasury securities in open market operations.
4. Debt held by foreign entities:
- Foreign governments and central banks, as well as international financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
- Private investors, such as individuals, banks, and pension funds, outside the United States.
Who owes the US debt:
1. Domestic investors:
- Individuals, banks, mutual funds, and other institutions within the United States.
2. Foreign investors:
- Foreign governments, central banks, and international financial institutions.
- Private investors, including individuals, banks, and pension funds, outside the United States.
3. Federal Reserve:
- As the central bank of the United States, the Federal Reserve holds a significant amount of US debt as part of its monetary policy operations.
4. US Treasury:
- The US Treasury manages the national debt and regularly issues new debt instruments to finance the government's activities and obligations.