"If the public option is in there, as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote because I believe the debt can break America," he said.

The explosion of debt that is certain to accompany the enactment of this national health care bill can only add to that nervousness.

Another was to use foreign currency: the bank could lend, or accept a bill of exchange, in one currency and collect its debt in another, building a hidden rate of interest into the exchange rate.