Why Eurobonds are Un-American

Eurobonds are now widely assumed to be the only way out of the euro crisis, and supporters frequently cite the early years of the US, when Alexander Hamilton pressed the new federal government to assume states' Revolutionary War debts. But this experience provides neither a useful analogy nor an encouraging precedent for Europe.

BRUSSELS – The emerging consensus in Europe nowadays is that only “debt mutualization” in the form of Eurobonds can resolve the euro crisis, with advocates frequently citing the early United States, when Alexander Hamilton, President George Washington’s treasury secretary, successfully pressed the new federal government to assume the Revolutionary War debts of America’s states. But a closer look reveals that this early US experience provides neither a useful analogy nor an encouraging precedent for Eurobonds.

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