Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in ValueWalk speaking on global debt following the Spring International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington, D.C. and the Financing for Development meetings at the United Nations last week in New York. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

At UN Meetings, Global Leaders Raise “Undiplomatic” Concerns Regarding Debt

By: Mark Melin

For the past ten years, the global economy has been growing and on a sustainable path, the IMF has reported in typically polite and diplomatic language. But the warnings contained in recent reports have been the focus of concerned global leaders attending UN meetings in New York this week, said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubliee USA and a UN consultant on sovereign debt.

LeCompte, attending the UN meetings, said that discussions were “less diplomatic” than normal as concerns were raised that a debt crisis could materialize if steps are not taken to avert the problem.

Looking at the emerging world economy, sovereign debt has reached levels where it is becoming non-productive. In areas such as Africa, for instance, debt to GDP levels is reaching 55%, up from 30%. “When debt in the developing world reaches 55%, the increased debt is used to make interest payments and does not go directly into the Economy,” LeCompte notes.

As the IMF looks at the financial landscape, it sees debt levels moving to unsustainable levels and speculative financial behavior, led by the roll-back of Dodd-Frank legislation, creating a toxic brew. “This is the formula that ushered in the 2008 financial crisis,” LeCompte said, noting his surprise that the IMF would be considering a universal basic income at the same time they are expressing serious concern over debt levels. He said concerns over rising populism, particularly if there is an economic downturn, are driving the IMF to get ahead of the issues.

Read more here.