If Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling soon, the U.S. government won't be able to pay its debts. Here's NPR's simple (and complete) illustration [3] to who the government owes money to — all the holders of U.S. Treasury debt, broken down by category and by how much government debt they hold. It would appear the government's ponzi self-financing may be exposed for all to see... (and is it anywonder the Chinese are complaining? [4])
[3]
Via NPR [3]