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Article: Fascination with interest rates.(Opinion & Editorial)
- Article from:
- Manila Bulletin
- Article date:
- March 30, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THERE are two ways in which our fascination with interest rates is expressed.
In populist circles, we still hear the desire for low interest rates avowed. That desire stems from a concern that domestic public debt has gone up so high, and the interest being paid on that debt already eats up a substantial portion of the governments expenditure budget. Since the level of debt cannot be contained any time in the foreseeable future, the only way to cut that portion of the government budget that goes to paying interest on public debt is to cut down interest rates. Some politicians occasionally jump on the idea that interest rates must be capped at far lower levels ...