The trick is growing the debt slower or at the same rate than the economy. But political incentives accelerate debt acquisition when the consequences are not go

The trick is growing the debt slower or at the same rate than the economy. But political incentives accelerate debt acquisition when the consequences are not going to hit for a couple of mandates. It's surprising that governments have not been more profligate than they were. But eventually, someone's going to be in charge when the bills come due. As for the austerity 'death spiral', we can have some sympathy for those social beneficiaries being promised payments. Bond contracts weigh heavier than political commitments (once defaulted, people stop buying debt titles, but once lied to people keep voting).