>Borrowing in order to increase sales (taxes in the case of governments) or to decrease costs (increase economic efficiency, spending on infrastructure and the

>Borrowing in order to increase sales (taxes in the case of governments) or to decrease costs (increase economic efficiency, spending on infrastructure and the like) is a good idea It can be a good idea if the economic activity that results covers the cost of borrowing. But that's not an easy thing to determine, and any rational start to the process tends to get warped by political reality. The fetish for infrastructure spending results in, for example, rail projects that lose ¥32 for every ¥1 they take in: http://spikejapan.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/minispike-the-end-of-the-line/ http://spikejapan.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/minispike-the-end...