system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Does the U.S. debt really matter?

It seems like every country is in debt and no one seems to be concerned with a 19 trillion dollar debt that seems almost impossible to pay off. Does the debt really even matter?
gpt
No, it really doesn't matter, at least in the way you'd worry about personal debt.

Firstly, the debt is not structured like the loans you take from a bank. Most of it is in Treasury Bonds. These are bought; you too can buy treasury bonds. It's actually an excellent save investment, as it won't make you much profit but it's stable as fuck. 

So it's not like the US is begging China for money. Rather, they, believing in the stability of the US economy, decide to purchase US Treasury Bonds. This incidentally gives the U.S power--the countries who buy bonds have a vested interest in the success of our economy.

You also can't "call in" your Treasury Bonds. They give out set amounts of payment (with interest) at set times. The US government was never, ever failed a payment, and as such we pay an absolutely tiny interest on the debts. In fact, sometimes our inflation is higher than the interest, and on those years we *make* money from the debt.

You can into more of how the debt is useful. For one, it's what makes up most of currency, as Treasury Bonds are the most common collateral on dollars.

As long as the debt grows at a similar rate to our GDP, it's not a problem. And so far our debt is well within acceptable limits. But too much debt isn't necessarily good either; for one, it can cause runaway inflation like Venezuela.

edit: Oh, yes, and an interest tidbit is that the vast majority of our debt is owned by the United States, roughly 60% of it. Most of it is owned by Social Security!