Except countries are not like households and historicallly require and built empires on debt. A country which ?lived within it?s means? is effectlvely stagnant and dead in the water Debt in itself isn?t bad ? what has the markets spooked is they invented ways of packaging debt so no-one knew who owes what ? then when that blows up in their face they get spooked and start looking at small countries and start charging them exhorbatant rates, crippling them in the most undemocratic fashion imaginable, creating further turmoil. I don?t have an answer, nobody does, but just saying debt is bad and markets need to be assuaged will save us seems overly simplistic, even if it?s technically true