The central weakness of democratic systems also contributes to the problem: The quest for votes favors the extension of social benefits and discourages unpopular measures that would put the economy on a more sustainable footing. As the German economist Herbert Giersch once put it, what is politically expedient is rarely economically beneficial.
民主制度的核心弱点也使问题变得愈加严重：拉选票需要扩大社会福利，从而使能确保经济可持续发展但不受民众欢迎的举措无人问津。正像德国经济学家赫伯特·吉尔施曾经说过的那样，追求功利政治目的的举措很少能在经济上可行。