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According to Ed Hall's U.S. National Debt Clock, the U.S. debt is currently around five and three quarters trillion dollars -- but click here to see the latest figure. The national debt increases an average of $120 million dollars a day; it would cost us $20,000 per person to pay it off right now. To find out who we owe all this money to, look at this pie chart. The government owes roughly forty percent of this money to itself, through the Federal Reserve Bank and other government accounts. The majority of the debt is owed to foreign investors, insurance companies, banks, and other privately held entities. The money is used to operate the federal government, which
currently costs around two trillion dollars a year. The debt is the total amount of money owed by the government, while the deficit is the yearly amount by which the government outspends itself. The debt has grown steadily over the years, but since 1983 it has been on a tear. While our current surpluses are nice, we're still sitting on a big fat IOU that is fast approaching the six trillion dollar mark. Check out this FAQ from the Bureau of the Public Debt's Office for more details, including specifics on how to contribute money!
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