For public finance, too, the orthodox rule was that budgets should always be balanced; except in emergencies, governments should never spend more than they “earned” in taxation. Again, it was a point of honor for governments to pay back such debts as they were incurred, whatever the sacrifice to the country.
对于公共财政也是如此，正统思想认为预算应该保持平衡；除非发生紧急事件，否则政府不能支出超过其税收“收入”的数额。同样政府偿还债务也是一个“尊严”问题，不管国家经济因此遭到了多大损害也一定要偿还。直到最近，普遍的观点依旧认为一个“成熟”的主权国家必须能承担起自己的负债，只有那些经济单一，政局混乱的“香蕉共和国”才会欠债不还。