Financial Repression in the United States In times of economic hardship and enormous amounts of accumulated debt, governments must look for ways in which to resolve this indebtedness and put their economies back on track towards periods of healthy growth and hopeful prosperity. The United States currently finds itself in such a situation, and with few viable options to remedy it, many economists believe that “financial repression” is the answer. The term was created in 1973 through the work of two Stanford University economists, Edward Shaw and Ronald McKinnon (Reinhart), and refers to the process of reducing debt through the “repression” of wealth within a country . Once implemented, the fundamental goal of financial repression is to liquidate the value of government-issued debt by creating a negative interest rate environment, that is, interest rates lower than those that would normally exist in a free market. Over time, this process (along with a steady dose of inflation) aims to reduce the national debt-to-GDP ratio by literally devaluing government debt. But such a policy cannot be pursued or implemented without raising some questions and creating some controversies. The following paragraphs will attempt to explain this concept in more detail and discuss the pros and cons of its implementation by the United States. Past situations where governments have found themselves in such indebted circumstances have taught us that there are usually the same few solutions that can be used to fix a struggling economy. The first is economic growth, where GDP grows at a fast enough pace that the economy can literally grow its way out of debt. This would be the most idea... halfway through the document... inform yourself about the possible options to decide which you believe is the right side to take. Bibliography"Angry Bear » A Study in Financial Repression, Part 5... Sneaking into U.S. Politics." Angry Bear » A Study in Financial Repression, Part 5… Sneaking into US Politics. "GRAPH: US Debt to GDP 1940-2015 - Home - The Daily Bail." CHART: US Debt/GDP 1940-2015 - Home - The Daily Bail. Np, n.d. "Comparison of Debt Ratios." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, nd Web."The Great Repression." The economist. The Economist Newspaper, 18 June 2011. Web.Reinhart, Carmen M. and Belen M. Sbrancia. "The liquidation of the public debt". WORKING DOCUMENT 11-10: The liquidation of public debt. The Peterson Institute for International Economics, and “US GDP Growth.” TRADE ECONOMY.