Faith in the Public Square

Earlier today, an international group of financial experts sent a letter to members of the New York State Legislature to support passage of the New York Taxpayer and International Debt Crises Protection Act (S4747, A2970), which we discussed in our last post .   They note:   As home to the world’s principal financial center, New York holds a unique role and responsibility in alleviating this crisis of unsustainable and unpayable debt. About half of all low- and middle- income countries’ public debt that is owed to private creditors is governed by New York laws, because of the depth of its financial market, the strength of its rule of law, and its rich jurisprudence.   But right now, New York’s laws do not prevent private creditors from free-riding on taxpayer-funded debt relief efforts to alleviate the desperate situation.   New York’s legislature can provide a critical missing piece in the international financial architecture by mandating that private creditors participate in debt rel