Those in debt are not free. Göran Persson, Swedish Prime Minister

Public Debt: A Problem Creator or a Problem Solver? The development of public debt has been characterized by ups and downs in historical comparison, with wars, economic crises, and the extravagance of absolutist rulers being the main driving forces behind indebtedness. After World War II, the major industrial nations initially reduced their debts over an extended period, aided by the prolonged economic growth of the Golden Age until the early 1970s. Since 1970, the average development of public debt has been marked by an unprecedented rise during peacetime: by 1995, the year of the absolute peak among the 23 OECD countries examined here, debts had increased to 73 percent.