The US has tried Labour's strategy of more spending, less debt repayment – and it has made their situation worse, not better.
But the organisation has itself come under fire from critics who argue that it has forced countries such as Greece to adopt unsustainable debt repayment programmes, undermining their recovery.
Visiting the US, the Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was forced to deny such a scenario telling Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director, that Greece would honour all its debt obligations, starting with Thursday's €450m repayment to the Washington-based body.
"The government's plans will fix higher education funding, with a fairer repayment system and more financial security for universities," wrote Clegg.
Offering repayment plans and discussing ways they can help consumers will nip issues in the bud and remove the need to complain.
And so, the Greek glass still looks half-empty, and four IMF loan repayments totalling €1.6bn will come in quick succession in mid-June to provide plenty of opportunities to miss a repayment".
Heading the other way was Phoenix - the insurance group chaired by former FSA boss Howard Davies - after it announced a fundraising and the repayment of £450m of debt.
Related: Greece debt repayment uncertain amid fresh round of talks There is also a good chance the eurozone managed to eclipse the world's biggest economy, the US, where growth came to a virtual standstill in the first quarter.
At that time we stated that "it may be appropriate for you to convert your mortgage to a repayment basis (if you have not already done so)" and offered to pay for all the costs involved in doing this.
A sign of solace may have come on Wednesday, when Greece made a €200m repayment to the International Monetary Fund, ahead of a meeting of the eurozone finance ministers on Monday – although this doesn't mean a breakthrough is imminent.
The main benefit of a 0% deal is that all of your monthly repayment goes towards the outstanding balance, and therefore the debt can be cleared more quickly.
