The major advantage of having government debt is that it allows the government to do more things than it otherwise could. This is similar to how borrowing money to buy my house allows me to do more things. If government uses its debt wisely (by investing), this is fine.
A second advantage is that it allows government to be flexible in fiscal policy. If a government has no debt, it has no way to stimulate the economy during a recession.
If a government has no debt, it also cannot show that it is credit-worthy. If it suddenly needs to borrow, it will have to pay high interest rates.
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