"Public" and "private" terminology

At Fleximize: The Difference Between Public and Private Debt:

Private debt is the debt accumulated by individuals or private businesses.

Yeah. Private debt is the debt accumulated by the non-government sector.

At Prestige Funds: Private Debt:

Private debt covers the lending of money to companies and individuals by entities other than banks.

Nope, that's lending, not debt. Private lending. Except banks are typically private (non-government) entities also, like companies and individuals. So really, "private lending" isn't correct either.

Again, on their definition:

A private debt fund specialises in lending activity and raises money from investors and lends that money to companies. It represents an alternative to bank lending...

They describe lending activity. Their words. Lending, not debt. Lending, by entities other than banks. That's not the same as "private debt".


At YourDictionary: Public Debt:

public debt

1. Public debt is defined as any money owed by a government agency.

public debt

1. the total debt of all governmental units, including those of state and local governments
2. national debt

At FocusEconomics: Public Debt:

Public debt, sometimes also referred to as government debt, represents the total outstanding debt (bonds and other securities) of a country’s central government.

Yeah. Public debt is government debt: sometimes Federal, state, and local government; sometimes only the Federal or central government debt. Either way, "public" debt differs from "private" debt in that public debt is owed by government, and private debt is owed by non-government debtors.

At AARP: What is the public debt?:

The Debt Held by the Public, or public debt, is all federal debt held by individuals, corporations, state or local governments, foreign governments and other entities outside the U.S. Government, less Federal Financing Bank securities.

No! They equate "public debt" with "debt held by the public". That's just wrong. Debt held by the public is one part of the Federal debt. Debt held by the Federal government, or by its agencies, is the other part.

And no again: AARP equates "debt" with "debt held". Debt is a liability; debt held is an asset. They couldn't be more different.


In conclusion:

1. We must distinguish between owing debt and holding debt, between "debt owed" and "debt held". Debt owed, or debt (without a qualifier)  is a liability. Debt held is an asset.
2. We must distinguish between "public" and "private". If "public" means government, then "private" must mean non-government.
3. We didn't even get to the difference between debt and deficits.

If you are concerned about debt, you need to know these things.

If you are not concerned about debt, you should be.