Your children are not peasants (Wendy McElroy)

Wendy McElroy says we must Repudicate the Debt:

One of the most promising ideas to come out of libertarianism for a long time is to "Repudiate the Debt!" If enough people -- and it need only be a committed minority -- rally around the idea, then that idea itself is powerful enough to bring the borrowing insanity to an end...if only because lenders will become very, very nervous. As libertarian Jerome Tucille eloquently urges, Say it in print, on the radio, on TV, on blogs and in advertisements. Say it loud and say it proud: If the world is dumb enough to loan more money to the U.S. government, don't expect it to be paid back. The Americans who will be making decisions in the decades to come won't be bound by the folly of the current crop of office-holders. If enough of us say it, the world will listen, and cut off the tap.

A grassroots site of the same name -- Repudiate the Debt -- explains the political underpinnings of such a repudiation:

The US federal government debt has grown past $10 trillion dollars with no end in sight. You and your descendants are expected to pay the interest and principal on this debt, but you didn't agree to it and you don't benefit from it. Join us in repudiating this illegitimate debt, and prohibiting future borrowing. The purpose of Repudiate the Debt! is to build a popular grassroots movement and force passage of a Constitutional Amendment repealing section 4 of the 14th amendment; prohibiting future indebtedness and deficit spending on the part of the federal government; and repudiating all federal government debt and debt service obligations accrued prior to the ratification of said amendment.

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