I have obviously read the [Reinhart and Rogoff 90% “debt cliff”] report and have referenced it a number of times. I know they had a worksheet error in the report and my understanding is that does make a difference. But what it doesn’t change is the common sense and my own personal experience in both the public and private sector that when any organization has too much debt that is an enormous risk factor and your risks go up then people lending you money will want more money for their money. My best guess is that whether the 90 percent number is the number or not, I don’t know. That is obviously up to question. But the fact that adding more leverage to a company or a not-for-profit or a government’s balance sheet does increase risk and therefore increases the return that somebody is going to expect on their capital, is absolutely a fact.

—Erskine Bowles
Quoted in Bowles Dismisses “Flaws” in Favorite Debt Study

[It’s funny that after the study was shown to be wrong (although there was never any reason to take it seriously), Bowles suddenly didn’t know for sure. He showed no such humility when he could use the study to push his debt hysteria. When a study says what you are pushing, it is simply: The Truth™. When it is debunked, suddenly there is nuance. Fancy that! —FM]