If everyone's debt is in so much trouble, why don't we just forgive all

[BR_Parkway]

of it and start over? Here we are with trillions hanging over our heads talking about bailing out Greece? Spain? BOA? Seems like it'd just be easier to kill off the derivatives, declare the old custom of Jubilee and let everyone start over.

It sure would be interesting to see if we learned anything at least

[Eddie Haskell]

1. Government obligations are sacrosanct.

Except for Social Security which is an entitlement.

[BR_Parkway]

2. Well put

[laylah]

:thumbsup:

[laylah]

16. ...

:thumbsup:

[ixion]

3. because it would derail their mission of implementing a Neo-Feudal Age

which is something they've been working on for decades.

The monied class has it's eye on enslaving the working class, and you can be sure they'll not give up that goal easily.

[Uben]

4. China would love that....

....NOT!

[xchrom]

5. china has their own debt problems. nt

[xchrom]

6. invisible rec. nt

[LARED]

7. I need to buy yacht first. nt

[dkf]

8. You would crash all the pensions and most elderly people's incomes.

As of 2009, the size of the worldwide bond market (total debt outstanding) is an estimated $82.2 trillion,<1> of which the size of the outstanding U.S. bond market debt was $31.2 trillion according to BIS (or alternatively $35.2 trillion as of Q2 2011 according to SIFMA).<1>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_market

[tama]

25. Which are crashing any way

and being devoured by the parasitical elites. This system is not protecting the dignified lives of our elders, this system is not giving our children fair chance to live good lives.

Money could be created as citizen income - including pensions - instead of giving banks their parasitical middleman role in money creation.

[redgiant]

9. And then who would ever lend money to someone...

...knowing that, by fiat, the obligation to be repaid could be nullified?

[durablend]

11. Well why not?

Big business does it all the time. Wiggle it's nose, and VOILA...debts BEGONE.

And for some reason banks keep loaning them more money!

[redgiant]

18. It's that easy, huh?

Got some examples?

Here's a link to some good info about what happens when companies go bankrupt. Any notion that they skate and continue on their merry way is hardly the case. Under chap 11 they have to reorganize with a plan to pay off creditors under a creditor approved or court approved plan. Worse case, they liquidate to pay off what they can. They're pretty much kaput after that.

http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2002/foth020129.htm

[BR_Parkway]

22. Donald Trump?

[kentuck]

10. This idea has more credibility than some may think...

I think it is an excellent idea, especially debts owed to the big banks and which the majority of the principal has been paid on the debt.

[Indydem]

13. So where exactly do all these big banks get money to loan out?

If we just forgave all the debts, who would get hurt?

BTW, I know the answer to this question, I just want to see if you are smart enough to walk this ridiculous argument backwards and see who the real victim of this lunacy would be.

[tavalon]

14. Well, we would be in a depression, methinks.

A world wide depression, come to think of it. Well, it would save time on the whole, long, slow descent of the world.

[BR_Parkway]

24. I'm just thinking if we borrow more money to bail out the Euro, we stand

a greater chance of default as well. Ratings get cut, remember that turmoil a few weeks back? It seems that we're doing as much damage propping up failed economies as if we stopped pretending that they are still somehow solvent. At some point, somebody in this cycle can't borrow any more to bail out the next one and it all comes crashing down anyhow.

[shraby]

20. Most people with a debt to banks have already paid back

their loan several times over in the form of interest on the principle.

[Freddie Stubbs]

12. Excellent idea if you want the government to have to rescue the banks again

[PETRUS]

15. Economists in favor of debt relief

(i.e. on the side of people, not bankers) suggest targeting a higher rate of inflation to address this problem. Straight up forgiveness creates problems and is unfair in practice.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. What about reinstating the usury laws and making it illegal to

charge above a certain rate of interest?

It's high interest rates that keep debtors from paying off their debts. Let's just say I know that from experience from the days when I was getting my business started.

It's especially galling that banks can charge exorbitant rates on their credit cards for people who are temporarily down on their luck, and yet they are paying out less than 1% on savings accounts and CDs.

[Motown_Johnny]

19. because then nobody would ever lend again, why should they if they don't get paid back?

[butterfly77]

21. K&R..

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. We did that in '45. A lot of sovereign debt went poof

We just might see it again.