June 2010, 56.99 External debt has generally flattened this
decade, with this year's level similar to the 2003 level of $57
billion. Nonetheless, a debt is a debt that must be paid
someday. The sooner than our external debt will be drasticallyy
reduced, the better. Thus, instead of rising from 2009's level
of $53.3 B to this year's $57 B, it should decline to $50 B in
the next few years, down to $40 and lower through the years.
Debts were incurred in the past to improve current and future
economic conditions of the country. Thus, current and future
debts should be declining, not flattening or rising. Big
governments though, have the ugly habit of keeping the debts
high so that they too, can take out huge loans on their own as
current administration pay off the debts of past
administrations. The vicious circle goes on.