I’ve once heard that the USA owns most of its debt to itself, how is that possible? How can you owe debt to yourself?

Question

I’ve once heard that the USA owns most of its debt to itself, how is that possible? How can you owe debt to yourself?

In: 252

Answer 1

The government borrows from the people.

The wealth of America (= what all Americans own put together) is about 400 trillion. The government debt is about 30 trillion. About 20 trillion of that debt is owed to Americans.