Borrowing To Prosperity

"We want to demonstrate that Ireland CAN borrow into the future," Irish Financial Minister Brian Lenihan just said in an on-camera interview. Granted, this is only a sound bite. But it is illustrative of the overall mentality of governments, that they exist to live in perpetual deficit thus only giving the illusion of prosperity, whereas if they were forced to conduct their balance sheets like normal businesses and their own citizens -- spending less than they take in, there would be little need for bailouts and other unpleasantness.