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Financial repression "played an important role in reducing debt-to-GDP ratios after World War II" by keeping real interest rates for government debt below 1% for two-thirds of the time between 1945 and 1980, the United States was able to "inflate away" the large debt (122% of GDP) left over from the Great Depression and World War II. [2]
The London Agreement on German External Debts, also known as the London Debt Agreement (German: Londoner Schuldenabkommen), was a debt relief treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and creditor nations. The Agreement was signed in London on 27 February 1953, and came into force on 16 September 1953.
Instead of a one-time write-off, German economist Harald Spehl has called for a 30-year debt-reduction plan, similar to the one Germany used after World War II to share the burden of reconstruction and development. [31] Similar calls have been made by political parties in Germany including the Greens and The Left. [32] [33]
The public debt relative to GDP reached a post-World War II low of 24.6% in 1974. [ 18 ] [ 25 ] In that year, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 reformed the budget process to allow Congress to challenge the president's budget more easily, and, as a consequence, deficits became increasingly difficult to control. [ 26 ]
In 1993, for instance, the annual deficit amounted to 3.8% of GDP, and the debt, which seemed astronomically high at a “mere” $4.4 trillion, was Lilliputian by today’s standards.
However, during World War I, the British government was forced to borrow heavily in order to finance the war effort. The national debt increased from £650m in 1914 to £7.4 billion in 1919. During World War II the government was again forced to borrow heavily in order to finance war with the Axis powers.
The federal debt held by the public, which is currently 99% of U.S. GDP and is projected to rise to 166% of GDP by 2054, would be 37.8% lower than the projection in 2054 under the PWBM analysis.
Ken and Daria Dolan, America's First Family of Personal Finance, answer your money questions every Friday. Dear Ken and Daria, I have some credit card debt and have been approached by a debt ...