Of course, many Americans recognize the scale of the country s debt burden.

Five years on, public, private, and external debt are at record levels in many countries.

Many people regard debt relief and socialization of debts as the only way out.

When it re emerged, it was not burdened with debt and bankrupt firms like so many of its neighbors.

Hungary has many reasons to be sensitive to the issue of the political consequences of debt.

Debt equity swaps have been used successfully in many cases, and they follow from normal bankruptcy procedures.

Inflation reduces the value of debt, which for many people and companies feels like slowly sipping champagne, producing a nice buzz of light headed excitement as they are unburdened.

For example, many governments have implemented regulations for banks and insurance companies that increase the amount of government debt that they own.

Second, economic policies have greatly improved. With few exceptions, gone are the days of dual exchange rates, hyperinflation, and extensive trade barriers.

Despite many financial crises and defaults, this creditor debtor relationship worked, on the whole, to the benefit of both sides.

It was for these same people that the Jubilee 2000 campaign for debt relief was carried out by many individuals and organizations all over the world.

Indeed, many highly indebted countries in Latin America conducted similar debt buybacks in the late 1980 s.

To be sure, this is a dangerous product, and it did cause many families to fall into an unsustainable debt trap.

Several major lenders absconded with large amounts of deposits, and defaults by ordinary companies have become a serious concern.

The MDGs also cast a global spotlight on the crippling debt burdens faced by many of Africa s poorest countries, leading to a process of debt cancelation led by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

So when the dollar s convertibility into gold was suspended, the value of that debt soared, threatening many institutions survival.

But many developing countries have just emerged from being overburdened with debt they do not want to go through that again.

The damage from the financial crisis is still ongoing, but stronger growth can heal many wounds, especially debt driven wounds.

Countries never default because they can t pay their debts there are always ways to decrease expenditures or raise taxes.

Thus, the recent problems faced by Greece are only the tip of a sovereign debt iceberg in many advanced economies (and a smaller number of emerging markets).

But many emerging markets are already leading by example on important issues like the need to shift global financial flows from debt toward equity.

Many see Greece as the potential first domino to fall in a scenario that runs as follows the Greek austerity measures do not suffice, the debt crisis deepens, and the risk of a sovereign default spreads to other European economies.

We are, however, concerned that many African countries remain burdened by debt, and we call for urgent measures to address the debt crisis of those countries.

Indeed, without the single currency, many of these countries would have succumbed to a downward spiral of devaluation, default, and recourse to the IMF.

In 2008, on the eve of the financial crisis, three quarters of Portuguese debt, half of Spanish and Greek debt, and more than 40 of Italian debt was held by foreigners.

CAMBRIDGE Many, if not all, of the world s most pressing macroeconomic problems relate to the massive overhang of all forms of debt. In Europe, a toxic combination of public, bank, and external debt in the periphery threatens to unhinge the eurozone.

It was the safe way to buy because a family could not get into debt via its grocery bill (as many families did at the time, especially during the Great Depression).

Inflation and deflation of debts produce very different outcomes. Inflation reduces the value of debt, which for many people and companies feels like slowly sipping champagne, producing a nice buzz of light headed excitement as they are unburdened.

Rather than waiting to get rid of debt through bankruptcies, governments should mandate debt forgiveness.

As a result, many developed countries have built up dangerously large public debts and even larger non debt liabilities, owing to unsustainable growth patterns.

Families were increasingly indebted and could no longer pay school or university fees, leading many children and students to drop out.

He that dies pays all debts.

The False Promise of Debt Relief

This is particularly the case today, when, after sustained massive quantitative easing by major central banks, many governments have exceptionally short maturity structures for their debt.

In the future, a weak economic recovery and an aging population are likely to increase the debt burden of many advanced economies, including the United States, the UK, Japan, and several euro zone countries.

Europe is being cautious in the name of avoiding debt and defending the euro, whereas the US has moved on many fronts in order not to waste an ideal opportunity to implement badly needed structural reforms.

We heard a strong welcome for recent progress on aid and debt, although many members expect further action on debt, more quickly and in more countries.

Debt

But the principle of debt forgiveness clearly has applications for public debt as well, especially in the eurozone.

First, debt continually grows second, there is no really satisfactory way of getting rid of it.

Greek sovereign debt has been downgraded to below that of Egypt.

One reason that banks oppose debt write downs is that many underwater homeowners continue to repay debt rather than default, even while cutting back on other spending.

Concerned that many developing countries continue to struggle for a durable solution to their serious debt problems, where continuing debt and debt servicing obligations adversely affect their sustainable development,

In an ideal world, Europe would deal with its excessive debt burdens through a restructuring of Greek, Irish, and Portuguese liabilities, as well as municipal and bank debt in Spain.

LONDON The Great Recession of 2008 2009 was triggered by excessive debt accumulation and leverage on the part of households, financial institutions, and even the corporate sector in many advanced economies.