a) you can't compare the finances of a household with the finances of an entire economy. It might make sense for a household to aim to be debt free, but an econ

a) you can't compare the finances of a household with the finances of an entire economy. It might make sense for a household to aim to be debt free, but an economy should have plenty of debt (mostly to itself) to build all the infrastructure you need to run a modern and productive economy. It's sustainable for an economy not only to be eternally in debt, but to go eternally into more debt (ie have a deficit), as long as the economy grows. Common sense intuitions don't really work, and are contra-productive, at the level of an economy. b) insufficient aggregate demand can be a huge problem leading to recessions. What is sensible for the individual might not be sensible for the economy as a while. c) Germany's infrastructure is decaying, and rates are as low as never before, even negative, ie the market is willing to pay Germany to borrow. Yet Germany refuses to borrow. It's perverse. Of course, unemployment in Germany is relatively low, but in Europe it's high. Some big construction projects in Germany would be a win-win.