MANAGEMENT OF THE FEDERAL DEBT.

The article reports on the $300 billion, interest-bearing, federal debt in postwar United States. The wartime debt policies guiding the Treasury included raising funds in a way that reduced inflation risk and keeping the cost of war finance at a reasonable level. The floating debt contains $82 billion of securities that mature in the next five years. Debt management should focus on repayment priorities, refunding terms, and a plan for the various classes of debt. Topics are five points of appraisal for making changes to the debt policy, why the Treasury resorted to short-dated or demand debt that could be refunded on a longer-term basis, a tax reduction strategy to promote business ownership of government bonds, and the Treasury's maintenance of the yield or "the interest curve."