"One could now ask why is the U.S. debt treated any better than a country like Portugal, which has about the same levels of deficit and debt," said a senior European policymaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
CIT's debt exchange treated bondholders that had debt maturing soon better than others.
"The question is whether the additional debt is treated as part of the overall debt, for ratio purposes, and will it put the company in technical default," said Richard Siderman, a fixed-income analyst for Standard & Poor's.
Strike Debt says it consulted a team of attorneys who believe debtors could be immune to such consequences if the debt is treated as a tax-exempt gift and not as a taxable income gain.
Taking on debt is treated with suspicion.
The Russians apparently have no objection to their debt being treated this way.
EMTA also holds that, while bonds should not be exempt, nor should all classes of debt be treated equally.
Gerwig picks the latter, and, indeed, the entire movie takes the ingredients of common distress, including betrayal and debt, and treats them as food for laughs.
The Bush tax cuts will end up costing $2 trillion over a decade, but this huge debt is treated as a trifle by the reality-denying majority in Congress.
