Also, the difference between government debt, and the debt of a private citizen is that.... the private citizen tries to make a profit, and eventually stop running up debt.
The Federal government NEVER tries to make a profit. Or at least MOST don't. (Outside a few of the "smart" ones. Well smart economically, it's hard to call the Australian government smart per say.)
So they run deficits, hoping that growth in the surrounding economy will increase growth.
However to "make it back" you need
A) To make it so you get at least as much back in growth, as you paid. In other words, if you had a flat tax rate of 25% you'd have to grow the economy times 4 based solely on your debt spending. Since you keep debt spending every year anyway.
B) Keep doing this, forever, because as stated, the government never stops running a deficit.
This is especially difficult in countries in Europe like Greece where the government is a main employer. After all, in this system, government employees are a HUGE drain aren't they? After all, they can only pay a percentage of what you pay them in taxes... meaning you need a smaller part of the economy to grow more rapidly the more you focus on government spending.
