What Babylonians Knew

By Dirk J. Bezemer
When he took office as leader of the most powerful nation on earth, his first act was to legislate a debt workout for the beleagured economy. Under his predecessors, the public financial system had produced a bad debt problem that now threatened to crush the economy. Many of his citizens had to pledge their incomes in debt servicing and financial fees. Others lost their homes and land as foreclosures were rampant. His people were looking to him for change and for relief. No, this is not about Obama. The year was 1792 BC, the nation was ancient Babylonia and the leader was king Hammurabi. The workout was in fact a plain debt cancelation, or ‘Clean Slate’ - a social mechanism that allowed ancient civilizations to prevent their financial sectors from ruining the real economy and family livelihoods. Full article here