Reply #49: we seem to be talking at cross purposes here

[anigbrowl]

I don't disagree with you, but in practice paying down $200b means not rolling over existing debt, no? Put another way, if this scheme goes ahead, who is the recipient of the $200 billion? And getting back to the main point, why would it be preferable to keep paying interest on that sum? I'm willing to agree with you if you can suggest where we should spend the money that would give the treasury an ROI greater than the cost of the debt it's proposing to retire.