Conference: Debtor World, Univ. of Illinois, May 2-3, 2008

The University of Illinois College of Law, with the American Bankruptcy Institute, is hosting "A Debtor World: Interdisciplinary Academic Symposium on Debt," May 2-3, 2008.  From the conference website:

Perhaps the most common American experience today is debt. While debt can enable individuals and companies to do useful things they would otherwise be unable to do, excessive debt can cause serious financial problems for individuals, businesses and society at large. Debt is pervasive in the U.S. today. According to the latest figures from the Federal Reserve, there is almost $30,000 outstanding in consumer credit and home mortgages for every man, woman, and child in the United States. Even on an inflation-adjusted basis, that represents a thirteen-fold increase since 1946 when the figure was only $2,200. There are 900 million credit cards in circulation in the United States. Debt growth has not been restricted to consumers. Business debt is nine times as large as it was in 1946. Put simply, Americans have committed their future cash flows at an unprecedented rate.

-E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu