I co-teach a freshman seminar at the University of Texas called “Debt: the Good, Bad and Ugly” that examines the different ways consumers borrow and spend. Do they reflect wise investments in the future…
Pedro Caban, University at Albany, State University of New York
Puerto Rico’s economic woes have led some analysts to compare it to Greece. Paradoxically, Puerto Rico’s colonial status explains both its growth and the impending financial debacle.
A call to break with the leadership of Greece’s ruling party has highlighted the futility of debt-led austerity and the burden it places on people on the wrong side of a banker’s bad bet.
Any forecast 30 years ahead is fraught with uncertainty, so we should be wary of warnings Australia was on a trajectory of debt and deficit heading to 122% of GDP.
Queensland has a new Labor minority government, led by Annastacia Palaszczuk, after the shock defeat of the Liberal National Party. Labor’s pre-election promises were “modest”, leaving many now wondering…
David Cameron has announced plans to reduce the annual benefits cap from £26,000 to £23,000 per year if the Conservative Party wins the general election in May. He argues that the cap saved public money…
How much debt is Queensland really in? How much of that debt can past Labor governments bear responsibility for, and has the current Liberal National government cut or added to it? And how does Queensland’s…
Despite its role in bringing on the financial crisis, debt continues to plague many of us the world over (just ask the Greeks). In the UK the appetite for debt is undiminished, with the run up to Christmas…
Author’s update, January 29: In the week since this article was published (on January 23), Labor has moved to address the funding “black hole” in its plans to reduce Queensland’s debt, mainly by adopting…
In 2009, US trucking company YRC Worldwide faced ruin as it struggled to restructure its debt. With tens of thousands of jobs at stake, the Teamsters union, led by James Hoffa, accused some YRC bondholders…
Germany has sent the message that a Greek exit from the eurozone might be the lesser of two evils. It has been interpreted as a warning to the Greek electorate ahead of its January 25 election as left-wing…
The nightmare for Cyprus started in March 2013. The country’s banking sector faced a sudden squeeze. The two biggest players – Bank of Cyprus and Marfin Laiki Bank – were in danger of a collapse which…
Parents, government officials, and tuition-paying students are all seeking solutions to the skyrocketing costs of higher education and the burden of student debt. Currently, public universities in America…
As retailers encourage us to spend, spend, spend, the steady growth in both personal debt and income stagnation appears to show little sign of abating. This increase in personal debt is a growing problem…
The US has been accused of inflicting their commercialised version of Halloween on us, and now we have the horror of the Black Friday “celebrations” in our calendar as well. In the US, this is the day…