No. of Recommendations: 3
Interest can be good, maybe not this time, not it’s not always bad, either.
Yes, it can be good. It can also bury you. Your folks, and -at the risk of being boastful- us, used it well. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. It's easy to look back and say "good move". Basic time value of money...if you pay 4% interest for money, but it gives you 100% (double), that's good.
As I said earlier, personal finance is a bit different to government. Somewhere along the way I learned that one economic theory (I don't remember whose) says deficit spending (and the associated interest) can be OK if it is used to fund healthcare, infrastructure, defense, and such. It actually goes to productive things. A gross oversimplification, and I don't remember all the details, but it's counterproductive to fund tax cuts and corporate loopholes/giveaways.
But, whether personal finance or government, you can't continue to pile on debt (and interest) indefinitely. Eventually the interest will exceed your revenue.
