[GJM] Campaign for paying the Principal only

[robert searle]

Dear All,

       It is ludicrous that governments in the rich
world seem powerless to curtail interest charged by
banks especially when one realizes that they still can
make profit from the principal being paid off.
Ofcourse, this would be backed in many cases by the
relevant collateral, or security. It should be such a
simple thing to bring in the legislation necessary for
this to happen.

Banks could still be private commerical enterprises
but would operate at a reduced profit than before.
Ofcourse, a special one-off fee could also be paid for
the credit creation process to occur. 


Regards,

Robert Searle


--- Muhammad Mukhtar Alam <mukhtaralam2000 at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> Robert and all,
>    
>   We may initiate a campaign for paying the
> Principal only
> 
> robert searle <dharao4 at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>   
> Dear All,
> 
> The following may be of interest..
> 
> R.Searle
> 
> --- Christensen tjn 
> wrote:
> 
> > Dear Colleagues,
> > 
> > The following email from Steve Mandel is relevant
> to
> > those with an interest in odious debt.
> > 
> > Best wishes,
> > 
> > John
> > 
> > ++++++
> > 
> > Dear John Christensen,
> > 
> > As the world bank meetings open in Singapore, I am
> > launching a new discussion document from nef (the
> > new economics foundation) saying that the time has
> > come to look again at foreign debts forced wrongly
> > on developing countries - so-called 'odious debt'
> -
> > and shift the spotlight onto the 'odious lenders'
> -
> > the bankers who made large loans to illegal
> regimes.
> > 
> > The nef research, Odious lending: debt relief as
> if
> > morals mattered, demonstrates the true scale of
> the
> > impact of debts that result from 'odious lending',
> > and how that impact continues to grow until the
> loan
> > is cancelled. Long after 'odious debts' are
> > technically off the books, subsequent generations
> > are still effectively paying for them. Taking 13
> > clear examples of odious lending, nef's new
> > calculations reveal that amongst the worst cases: 
> > 
> > * Indonesia has already 'overpaid' in the region
> of
> > US$151 billion relating to odious debts - twice
> the
> > level of recorded debt. This means that Indonesia
> > has made a cumulative net transfer to the North of
> > US$138 billion to date - or 90 per cent of
> > Indonesia's GDP. 
> > * Argentina has already 'overpaid' in the region
> of
> > US$77 billion relating to odious debts - 75 per
> cent
> > of the country's recorded debt. 
> > * Nicaragua has odious debt of over five times the
> > country's total GDP. 
> > 
> > The case for debt cancellation on the grounds that
> > the vast loans made to 'odious' regimes should not
> > be enforceable under international law, is gaining
> > momentum. But until now, no-one has tried to put a
> > price on the repercussions of odious debt that
> > reverberate for many decades - even after an
> > oppressive and corrupt borrower regime may have
> left
> > the scene.
> > 
> > The nef research reveals that for at least ten of
> > these countries, their total debt results from
> > 'odious lending'. For the ten countries identified
> > as having 100 per cent odious debt: Indonesia,
> > Argentina, Nigeria, Phillipines, Pakistan, Peru,
> > Sudan, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo
> > and Nicaragua, all debt servicing is
> inappropriate.
> > This means that they have, in fact, been
> > 'overpaying' and are owed not just a total
> > cancellation of all outstanding debt, but a
> > substantial repayment, currently amounting to US
> > $383 billion.
> > 
> > Not only are successor governments saddled with
> > paying off the loans - but because the borrowed
> > money was often not put to productive use, there
> are
> > inadequate funds to repay interest and capital.
> The
> > result is a vicious circle of debt in which new
> > loans have to be taken out by successive
> governments
> > to service the odious ones, effectively
> 'laundering'
> > the original loans. This can give a legitimate
> cloak
> > to debts that were originally the result of odious
> > lending. And, as the nef research reveals, the net
> > loss to these countries economies' often exceeds
> the
> > total outstanding debt.
> > 
> > nef proposes a new process for dealing with the
> > problem including a new independent body that
> would
> > assess the track record of regimes that incurred
> the
> > debts and declare whether it was odious or
> > legitimate. Loan contracts entered into by
> 'odious'
> > regimes would then be deemed unenforceable. And,
> for
> > the backlog of the past, debtor countries would be
> > able to apply to an independent arbitration panel
> > for a debt work-out. A moratorium would be
> declared
> > on all debt service while the case was examined.
> > Odious debts would be declared null and void
> before
> > debt service could be considered on the rest. The
> > key components of the nef proposal are: 
> > 
> > * an internationally recognised independent body
> to
> > decide on the odious nature, or otherwise of
> regimes
> > 
> > * on a country by country basis, arbitration
> panels
> > consisting of representatives of: creditors to
> > odious regimes (the 'odious lenders'), legitimate
> > creditors, present government and civil society
> with
> > a mutually agreed chair to decide on debt
> work-out,
> > designed to leave any country no worse off than
> they
> > would have been if there were no odious loans. 
> > 
> > As well as relieving legitimate governments of the
> > burden imposed on them by undemocratic
> predecessors,
> > this would make it much more difficult for future
> > dictators and other corrupt regimes to raise loan
> > finance, thus greatly strengthening the forces of
> > democracy and justice.
> > 
> > I attach a four-page summary, but for the full
> > document please go here
> >
> 
> > .
> > 
> > Yours,
> > 
> > Steve Mandel
> > 
> > > _
> > JPBerlin - Mailbox und Politischer Provider
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> > von Attac
> > 
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> > ________________________________________
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> > Bei unseren Kampagnen (www.attac.de) mit Spenden
> > (https://www.attac.de/spenden.php)
> > oder durch Mitgliedschaft
> > (https://www.attac.de/mitglied.php)JPBerlin -
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> > von Attac
> > Zu Optionen und zum Austragen:
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> 
> 
> 
> 
>
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