Who Holds Our Debt?
Q: Who are the holders of U.S. debt?
A: The biggest are the Social Security trust funds (16 percent), the Federal Reserve banks (12 percent), China (8 percent), Japan (7 percent) and mutual funds including money-market funds (6 percent).

FULL QUESTION
I keep hearing about the debt ceiling and the U.S. borrowing more. Who are the holders of U.S. debt? Meaning who, exactly does a country of our size borrow money from? Thanks.
FULL ANSWER
Our primary source is Table OFS-2 in the September issue of the Treasury Bulletin, which can be found under the heading “Ownership of Federal Securities.” For additional details, we’ve also drawn on reports of the Federal Reserve System and other U.S. Treasury documents.
As of the end of March 2013 — the most recent period for which the Bulletin provides a breakdown — total federal debt stood at $16.8 trillion. It has since grown to nearly $17.2 trillion, but the share of debt held by various lenders cannot have shifted by much.

25 Of The Dumbest Things Donald Trump Has Ever Said
/25.

"If Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her."


The View, 2006]

2/25.

"Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are little short guys that wear yarmulkes every day."


Disputed attribution, published in 'Trumped!: The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump'

Monday Musings: “Your Books Are So Good, I Shouldn’t Have to Pay for Them.”
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Dear Ms. Author.

I really like your books. I think they are well-written and I enjoyed reading them. (So far, so good, right? Hang on.) However, I have returned them all because you priced them at $0.99 to $2.99, and that is too much to pay for them. I can’t afford to pay that much for a book, even though I liked it. In the future, can you make sure you make all your books free so I don’t have to return them?

And, when the author in question blocked this “fan” (and it seems, reported her as an abuser of the return system on ebooks), she sent another email chastising the author for blocking her and forcing her to open a second account (presumably to harass the author further). She went on to say that other authors haven’t been this terrible to her, and in fact, have asked her to be a beta reader because she bought and returned their books, so why does this author think she has the right to do these terrible, terrible things?

Uh, WTF? Lemme tell you something, sweetie. This writing stuff? This is work. This is our JOB. It takes time and effort to write a book, edit and revise several times, get it edited and proofread by outside sources, a cover designed, and the e-book formatted properly. Not everyone has the skill set to do all that themselves. In fact, the outside edit/proofread is essential to producing a professional result. Many time, those things we can’t do ourselves cost actual money. Oh, yes, sometimes you are lucky and have a relative or friend who will work gratis or for barter or a small payment. But it still requires the effort from all involved. That 99 cents you paid? That gets the author a pittance of a royalty, but at least it is something. Again, to a lot of us, this is a job.

 No Surprise: Trump Is a Union Buster at His Own Hotel
Their boss is famous for firing people with merciless gusto. So you can imagine it took just as much chutzpah for the workers at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas to rally today and demand the right to unionize and to gain respect on the job.
While the Donald seeks election to a new post, roughly 500 workers at the hotel are focusing on a very different vote: They’ve been pushing to form a union for months, and are trying to snatch a bit of Trump’s campaign spotlight this summer to call on him “Make America Great Again” right on his home turf. As a recent ad for the unionization campaign proclaims: “We think that working for Mr. Trump in Las Vegas is a chance to make our lives better…but only if he pays us the same wages and benefits as everyone else working on the Strip.”

Of course, what do they expect from the man who’s built a brand for himself as a ferocious corporate overlord? His attitude on the campaign trail is as ruthless as his management style, laced with racial invective and almost self-caricaturing jingoism. (Not to mention hypocrisy—just ask the many low-wage immigrant laborers he has exploited over the years). But amid the buffoonery, the local hospitality union, Culinary Workers Union Local 226, is pressing serious charges of labor violations and denouncing his operations as a bastion of union busting in an otherwise union town.