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Debt Discussions about debt and how to deal with debt.

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Old 03-08-2007, 03:15 PM
sunshine sunshine is offline
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Default Effects of debt

Source:wikipedia:

Debt allows people and organizations to do things that they otherwise wouldn't be able or allowed to. Commonly, people in industrialised nations use it to purchase houses, cars and many other things too expensive to buy with cash on hand. Companies also use debt in many ways to leverage the investment made in their private equity. This leverage, the proportion of debt to equity, is considered important in determining the riskiness of an investment; the more debt per equity, the riskier.
Debt as a whole is a sign that a society is optimistic, that it believes in its future earnings capacity, arguably that it lacks a strong work ethic (though the money must be repaid), and perhaps that it is postponing the solution to present problems (for example, it may compensate a fall in revenues that is perceived as short term by an increase in debt).
Excesses in debt accumulation have been blamed for exacerbating economic problems. For example, prior to the beginning of the Great Depression debt/GDP ratio was very high. Economic agents were heavily indebted. This excess in debt, equivalent to excessive expectations on future returns, accompanied asset bubbles on the stock markets. When expectations corrected, deflation and credit crunch followed. Deflation effectively made debt more expansive and, as Fisher explained, this reinforced deflation again, because, in order to reduce their debt level, economic agents reduced their consumption and investment. The reduction in demand reduced business activity and caused further unemployment. In a more direct sense, more bankruptcies also occurred due both to increased debt cost caused by deflation and to the reduced demand.
It is possible for some organizations to enter into alternative types of borrowing and repayment arrangements which will not result in bankruptcy. For example, companies can sometimes convert debt that they owe into equity in themselves. In this case, the creditor hopes to regain something equivalent to the debt and interest in the form of dividends and capital gains of the borrower. The "repayments" are therefore proportional to what the borrower earns and so can not in themselves cause bankruptcy. Once debt is converted in this way, it is no longer known as debt.
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Old 03-14-2007, 01:45 AM
ohioguy ohioguy is offline
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Default Re: Effects of debt

Correct. People often look at debt as a negative thing, when, in reality, it can be a very helpful tool. It's the driving force behind society today.
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Old 03-14-2007, 02:55 AM
financeguy financeguy is offline
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Default Re: Effects of debt

I agree with both posts. Debt is the ultimate enabler. It allows our economy to function. Without it, we would not be able to own homes or cars or other things.
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Old 03-17-2007, 04:16 AM
shaye shaye is offline
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Default Re: Effects of debt

Not necessarily...I wouldn't say that we wouldn't be able to own homes or cars as there are some people who don't go into debt from these things...with that being said though the majority of people if not all are in some kind of debt...so I also agree.
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