Prior to the advent of Keynesian economic policy (using changes in government spending and tax rates to combat the ups and downs in the economic/business cycle) we had very little public debt - but had wide fluctuations in GDP, unemployment and inflation. The economy is more stable (shorter less frequent recessions, lower unemployment, less inflation) under Keynesian policies - but debt seems out of control. Is it worth it to build a large public debt in order to stabilize the economy? Who gets hurt by the growing debt? Who does Keynesian policy help the most?.