Freeman

ANYTHING PEACEFUL

Default ... or Renege?

JULY 30, 2011 by SHELDON RICHMAN

Via Don Boudreaux, Roger Garrison notes that one cannot choose to default.

As he wrote to Boudreaux:

You mention, though, that the government could “choose to default.” Well, if default means that you’re unable to pay, then “choosing to default” must mean that you “choose to be unable to pay.” Hey, that really does sound like government-speak. But I think a more accurate and more revealing term is “renege.”

Speaking for myself, reneging in this case would to some small extent liberate the taxpayers from an unchosen obligation, so it would not carry the moral taint that private reneging on debt obligations does

ABOUT

SHELDON RICHMAN

Sheldon Richman is the former editor of The Freeman and TheFreemanOnline.org, and a contributor to The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. He is the author of Separating School and State: How to Liberate America's Families.

RELATED

Washington's Idea of Budget Cutting

AUGUST 13, 2011 by SHELDON RICHMAN

U.S. Default Would Not Be Unprecedented

JULY 29, 2011 by SHELDON RICHMAN

Richman Interviewed on Liberty Conspiracy

JULY 28, 2011 by SHELDON RICHMAN

Default Not Inevitable

JULY 27, 2011 by SHELDON RICHMAN
comments powered by Disqus

CURRENT ISSUE

May 2013

From natural systems to human systems, we start to notice patterns in nature that are products of good flow. Adrian Bejan discusses this crucial insight--and how it makes freedom even more needful--in this month's interview. Zachary Caceres looks at what emergence can tell us about the universe, the market, the heart, and the sacred; Mike Reid recounts the tragedies produced when the State tries to impose its order on people who have already developed their own; Gary Galles channels Leonard Read: the State is a clenched fist, he says, so it cannot create; Brad Taylor says democracy might just be another imposed order in some situations; Karl Borden wonders whether an individual's right to be left alone can be part of the order of things; and much, much more.Download Free PDF

PAST ISSUES

SUBSCRIBE

RENEW YOUR SUBSCRIPTION

THE ARENA

The Arena is a monthly debate feature designed to help readers explore issues of concern to classical liberals/libertarians.

This month, the issue is Gay Marriage. The proposition is: Gay Marriage Expands Liberty. Richard Lorenc will be arguing for the proposition. Steve Esposito will be arguing against the proposition.

img E-mail Subscription

VIEW PRIVACY POLICY