After all, the rescue package is, in effect, an attempt by policymakers to convince investors that euro-zone sovereign debts are collectively insured: the debts of one are guaranteed by all.
Puerto Rico and its various government entities (like the Development Bank) owe, collectively, debts totalling seventy-two billion dollars, a burden that has almost doubled since 2003.
But replacing all national government bonds with collectively underwritten debt is a non-starter.
A European debt agency would issue collectively guaranteed e-bonds to cover part of member states' borrowing at a uniform low interest rate.
About two-thirds of bachelor's degree recipients borrow money to attend college, and collectively, student debt has topped $1 trillion.
The PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) collectively require debt write-downs that exceed banks' capital and reserves, and the tantrums of Jean Claude Trichet, President of the ECB, won't change that fact.
Rising tuition prices and student debt loads — Americans now collectively owe some $1.4 trillion — have led policymakers to think about how to collect and publish better information that could guide college choices.
"Manifestos, policies, acts of parliament – all these things are powerful, but not as powerful as acts of people," Cameron said, as he warned that Britain could only deal with its debts and "broken" society collectively.
Under state law, each individual partner is responsible for the debts of the partnership collectively.
But they have been among the worst sinners during the Asian boom years, investing with no apparent regard for economic return and, collectively, running up debts five times the size of their equity.
