The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Argentina’s appeal on a lower court’s ruling that said Argentina needed to pay $1.5 billion to hedge funds that own bonds the country had defaulted on back in 2001. In 2001, Argentina stopped payment on bonds worth $80 billion, which at the time was the biggest default in history. Argentina says it can not afford to repay the hedge funds while it is also repaying other lenders. Argentina has been running ads in newspapers around the world which say “paying the vulture funds is a path leading to default.” Stephen Nelson, a professor of political science at Northwestern University who specializes in the politics of debt, explains the case and its potential repercussions. (photo: A Liberal Libertario party member offers one dollar for 5 Argentine pesos to protest in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, May 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko))