The 1840’s were a period of slow growth, and continued pressure from foreign creditors forced most of the official debtors to resume payments after a while. Default was not an easy way out, and all US states (with the exception of Vermont) have since embraced balanced-budget amendments to their constitutions as a way to shore up their fiscal credibility.
违约的代价是沉重的。19世纪40年代，美国增长缓慢，来自外国债权人源源不断的压力迫使大部分官方债务人在一段时间后重新履行偿还义务。违约不是简单的解决之道，此后，所有美国州（只有佛蒙特州是例外）都在州宪法中加入了平衡预算修正案，以此捍卫财政信誉。欧盟成员国准备好采取类似动作了吗？