Of course, your suggestions are always welcome too!

A:

Here is a pie chart showing the makeup, or ownership, of the National Debt as of December 1998.

As you can see, the largest slice of the pie, over 40%, is owed to the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, and to other government accounts. BTW, The Fed is actually quasi-public (part private, part government) so calling it "part of the government" is not strictly true. You can find out more about The Fed by reading Wikipedia's excellent article.

The remaining 60% of the Debt is privately held by individuals, corporations, states, and foreign governments. As of November 2007, Japan ($580 billion), China ($390 billon) and the United Kingdom ($320 bilion) are the biggest foreign holders of our Debt.

The above chart information is from the June 1999 issue of the "Treasury Bulletin", a quarterly publication of the U.S. Treasury department's Financial Management Service. The Treasury Bulletin is the best place to find the latest information on this subject.