59
votes
Why are US student loans nearly impossible to remove via bankruptcy?
I don't think there's a clear and definitive reason. The Nondischargeability of Student Loans in Personal Bankruptcy Proceedings: The Search for a Theory by John A. E. Pottow of the University of ...
JJJ♦
- 39.7k
57
votes
Was Silicon Valley Bank's failure due to "Trump-era deregulation", and/or do Democrats share blame for it?
I was hesitant to answer this because I'm not certain I'm enough of an economist to give you a full answer. However, I think I can explain much of what you asked, and in the end I'm not convinced ...
- 9,573
56
votes
Do any countries have a pensions system funded entirely by past contributions, rather than current taxes?
The question is based on a faulty premise that is all too common in lay discussions of the issue and the broader political debate. A generation “being responsible just for themselves” is an illusion, ...
- 32k
55
votes
How does Dubai get its money?
The other answers discuss taxation in the UAE but omit the elephant in the room.
The UAE is a collection of monarchies (that's what "United Arab Emirates" literally means).
The monarchs ...
- 88.3k
47
votes
Accepted
What does the West have to gain by not allowing Russia to pay its debt?
By not allowing Russia to pay its debt, the West adds further financial costs to Putin's regime as a punishment for its invasion of Ukraine. This is consistent with economic sanctions against Russia ...
- 12.6k
38
votes
Accepted
How does the credit rating of a country affect its populace?
First of all, what does the credit rating of a country actually mean?
The credit rating of a sovereign country is calculated by privately owned rating agencies using algorithms and formulas they ...
- 78.9k
36
votes
What does the West have to gain by not allowing Russia to pay its debt?
Western governments are banning Western banks from doing business with Russia. If that means Russian companies and the Russian state cannot repay Western investors, they are going to accept that.
Also,...
- 116k
32
votes
Why is the ongoing auction for Silicon Valley Bank started held privately (vs. publicly)?
"Public" has a particular meaning in a share sale. It means that any investor can purchase shares and comes with lots of rules about transparency.
But what the regulators want is a single, ...
- 124k
30
votes
Why are US student loans nearly impossible to remove via bankruptcy?
The limitations on the discharge of student loans was hardened in the 2005 Act but long predates it.
The basic notion is that the education that you receive in exchange for a student loan is not ...
- 88.3k
25
votes
Accepted
Does Japan have any reason to ever repay its debt?
You can't go into debt when there is nobody who is willing to lend you money.
When a country doesn't repay its debts, then the bag-holders are the organizations and private people who lent money to ...
- 78.9k
25
votes
Why can't the UK water companies go bankrupt?
The basic fact about companies on the point of bankruptcy is that they are unable to pay their debts. The reason for this is simple and worth putting in bold:
There is no more money.
So what happens ...
- 124k
19
votes
Accepted
Do any countries have a pensions system funded entirely by past contributions, rather than current taxes?
Malaysia does have a retirement fund system that works exactly the way you describe but Malaysians don't consider it a pension fund (explained later in the answer).
The EPF: Employees Provident Fund
...
- 306
19
votes
Accepted
Why do some African countries use the CFA franc even if it means that they need to pay France money to be able to print money for their economies?
Depositing is not exactly “paying”. In fact, the Banque de France paid interest on that money and is currently transferring it back to African central banks (as part of a broader transition out of the ...
- 32k
19
votes
How is capital investment supposed to happen in an economy of workers co-ops?
There is nothing to prevent cooperative firms retaining income for investment purposes (either into their own operation, or for lending externally).
Indeed even amongst non-cooperative firms in the ...
- 7,860
15
votes
How does Dubai get its money?
Dubai isn't a country but I am guessing that you are talking about the UAE.
The UAE has a couple of taxes which generally tax Companies. It also uses a fee system, which means whenever you want ...
- 427
15
votes
Why can't the UK water companies go bankrupt?
They present two options
There is a third option: Let the old water company go bankrupt and keep the service intact
This is known as the "good bank, bad bank" solution, and it's a form of ...
- 251
14
votes
How does Dubai get its money?
I have seen many claims that Dubai has no income tax ...
This is not quite true (emboldening added). See, Taxation in the United Arab Emirates.
The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven ...
- 36.6k
12
votes
Why are US student loans nearly impossible to remove via bankruptcy?
Why are US student loans nearly impossible to remove via bankruptcy?
History of Student Loans: Bankruptcy Discharge, March 18, 2021, identifies changes in bankruptcy law, that added more and more ...
- 36.6k
12
votes
Does Japan have any reason to ever repay its debt?
A small detail, not repaying debts means a default. But Japan can try to repay old debts by taking new debts.
There is a widespread consensus that having some government bonds on the market is a good ...
- 116k
11
votes
Do any countries have a pensions system funded entirely by past contributions, rather than current taxes?
You won't get a satisfactory answer to this question. I'll try to elaborate why. But, please, be prepared for the fact that you really won't like the answer.
The whole concept of past vs present ...
- 6,954
11
votes
What does the West have to gain by not allowing Russia to pay its debt?
This question is somewhat of a loaded question (i.e., it is based on premise that hasn't been established) in that it treats the default as the direct goal. The default is a not entirely unwelcome ...
- 8,691
11
votes
Is there any Western country that suspended share borrowing to curb short-selling?
South Korea.
Naked short selling had been illegal in South Korea. But financial authorities surprised the market in early November, when they introduced a total ban on all types of stock short ...
- 552
11
votes
Why can't the UK water companies go bankrupt?
Part of the issue is that, unlike most private business companies, a water company is never truly insolvent. It can raise rates and has a de jure or de facto monopoly over an essential good, so the ...
- 88.3k
10
votes
How does the credit rating of a country affect its populace?
There are some excellent answers here already but I wanted to put some numbers to give a perspective. The credit rating is closely related to the interest the goverments have to pay on their debt. In ...
- 9,317
10
votes
Accepted
What do countries do to ensure that R&D budget for science or technology in general coming from the government is spent effectively?
There are numerous tools available to governments (generally speaking) to ensure that grants of money (for whatever purpose) are being used appropriately. They will vary in-situ as various commenters ...
- 19.4k
9
votes
Accepted
How many financial centres are to be created in the EU?
It's hard to prove a negative, but ultimately the answer to this is likely to be no.
These financial centres already exist. The source article is paywalled, but presumably it's talking about the ...
- 25k
9
votes
Accepted
How does the United Nations get information on North Korea's economy?
I'm not sure about this year, but for 2017 the figure from the UN WESP report (-3.5%, table A.3) coincides with the one from BOK (the Bank of South Korea), which regularly publishes such statistics, ...
9
votes
Was Silicon Valley Bank's failure due to "Trump-era deregulation", and/or do Democrats share blame for it?
It's not entirely clear to me what they are talking about, but if it's about the LCR requirement that was relaxed in 2018 for banks under $250 billion, then if you believe BPI's calculation, SVB would ...
9
votes
Why does China consider capital control necessary for an independent, sovereign monetary policy?
The issue is not just that capital controls are necessary for sovereign monetary policy, but that border controls on the movement of all economic factors are necessary to impose a sovereign economic ...
- 7,860
9
votes
Does Japan have any reason to ever repay its debt?
Does Japan have any reason to ever repay its debt?
I would distinguish between ever repaying any particular debt, which it does on a routine basis, and ever becoming completely government debt free, ...
- 88.3k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible