http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_2000s_recession
But to answer the authors premise, why not just keeping running (largely) domestically funded debt? Of course as long as we can print money there will be no default. Which is the reason...it leads to monetary collapse and inflation.
Exactly. I mean why do we even need savings and capital markets? In fact, why do we even need taxes? Just monetize all government expenditures through the central bank. Would this make voters ultra-happy? Don’t tax anyone and just hand them freshly-printed cash.