eli5: Who does the US owe almost 32 trillion dollars of debt too? If it’s the most powerful nation in the world, can’t it just get rid of it?

Question

eli5: Who does the US owe almost 32 trillion dollars of debt too? If it’s the most powerful nation in the world, can’t it just get rid of it?

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Answer 1

It’s a fairly complex issue. A lot of the debt is owned by Americans or american companies. Many of the holders are our allies, like Japan and Belgium. By suddenly removing it, many of our friends both inside and outside of the US would be hurt. This would also hurt our reliability. Who would want to work with us or buy our future debt if we did this?