alt Hacker NewsPutting deficits below GDP growth can also be a roundabout way of slightly impoverishing future generations. A country that engages in countercyclical spending and growth via (less-than-GDP) deficits outperforms one that runs zero debt, and future generations end up wealthier.
What if people become increasingly dependent on their government’s spending beyond its means - so that they suffer more harm once the deficit is reduced than had it never been raised in the first place - making it impossible to rein in the deficit when borrowing costs rise and the debt is high?