The Case for a Debt Jubilee [Hardcover]

We were drowning in in record levels of debt before the COVID-19 crisis, and we are now deluged in it. U.S. private-sector loans have tripled relative to income since 1950  and government debt is also at an all-time high. Soaring debt burdens individuals, stifles growth, compounds inequality, and brings falling living standards for millions.

Richard Vagues new book argues that, contrary to mainstream assumptions, we cannot simply hope that the trend will correct itself. Mounting debt is a feature of our economic system, not a bug: debts perpetually grow and compound, polarizing and impoverishing economies if not overtly dealt with. He offers a detailed plan for how we can restructure a range of debts  such as student loans, auto loans, medical debt and more  and offer hard-pressed debtors a jubilee now, not in some utopian future.

Vagues bold polemic contains a wealth of ideas that will free millions from modern-day debt peonage, reduce inequality and bring new vigor to the economy as it struggles to emerge from the pandemic.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller

?Drawing on his experience as a practitioner and his expertise as a scholar, Richard Vague makes a compelling and timely case that private debt can be as dangerous as the government debt that gets most of the attention in public debate. Policymakers should pay heed.
Professor Michael Lind, University of Texas at Austin?

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