Mr. Buchheit, who recently co-wrote a paper on possible variations for Greece's debt crisis, says an approach like this would be similar to a solution reached on Latin American debt in the 1980s in that it would give creditors and debtors more time to prepare themselves for an eventual restructuring.
Under the proposals, HMRC would be able to seize money from bank accounts, but only after they had contacted the debtor several times.
His job was to sign affidavits, swearing that he had personally reviewed and verified the records of debtors — a time-consuming task when done correctly.
One option is to allow debtor countries more time to bring their deficits under control, but that is seen more as damage control than as a way to foster growth.
Interrupted on Tuesday night by the rain that sweeps through New York with all the predictability of an unwelcome debtor at this time of year, she rediscovered her poise to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 32 minutes, but will be concerned that she served 11 double-faults along the way, which more than cancelled out her 10 aces.
Anyway, they figured, a debtor with 11 time zones isn't going to vanish.
The wonder, really, is that Americans managed to get rid of it; at the time, debtors were imprisoned in every country in Europe except Portugal.
He notes: "We abolished debtors' prisons some time ago .Nonetheless, cases such as these have outraged campaigners for press freedom in both Britain and America, who are trying to change the law in both countries.
Last week, Notis Marias, a member of Parliament from the right wing party Independent Greeks, declared, "Greece is borrowing from its debtors, at a time that the government is planning a social assault on our people".
It is generally acknowledged that debtors take social time like the Spring Festival as a legitimate reason to claim money at the opposite house.
