Government borrowings are skyrocketing as you read this. Unfashionable though it is to worry about this, there are still some of us who do. 

Among the propositions made to dismiss these concerns is that Australia’s government debt is much lower than that of other advanced countries, so why worry? Following this logic, there is scope to borrow much more than already planned. 

As a matter of arithmetic, it is undoubtedly true that Australia has a much smaller public debt burden than the average of advanced countries; but how meaningful is this? As a justification or excuse for running up more debt, it is wearing thin. 

We cannot explain away our own fiscal vulnerability by pointing to the greater...