Despite all odds and a German government intent on pushing Greece out of the Eurozone, both the European Union and the Hellenic parliament managed to agree on a third Greek bailout. The Grexit, for now, seems averted, and the Eurozone will not shrink as many experts predicted.

Now, however, comes the test. Philip Oltermann of The Guardian reported July 16th that Germany’s reputation could be irreparably damaged by its behavior in the negotiations leading up to the new bailout deal. Quoting German intellectual Jürgen Habermas, Oltermann writes, “The philosopher and sociologist said the German chancellor (Angela Merkel) had effectively carried out “an act of punishment” against the leftwing government of (Greek Prime Minister) Alexis Tsipras.”

Having diminished its reputation as a team player within the EU and apparently becoming its economic enforcer, Germany might be the biggest loser of this new agreement.

Both Chancellor Merkel and German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble played hardball with Greece, with Schauble even suggesting a temporary Greek withdrawal from the common currency.

In short, Germany demonstrated itself more concerned with an agreement it considered in line with its goals than the welfare of Greece or its people.

The cult of austerity embodied by Germany and a large number of Republicans in the United States presents a compelling argument to many voters.

The concern in the Western world in one word: debt. Though not inherently evil in itself, most on the political right of every developed nation see excess sovereign debt as a cancer to be expunged.

How is this goal achieved? Cutting government spending, raising taxes, and achieving annual budgetary surpluses.

For those just tuning in, the difference between debts and deficits are subtle.

Deficits are the negative differences that arise when annual government budgets exceed the amount of revenues they take in from taxes that fiscal year.

Debts are the accumulations of deficits over many years.

These deficits are often made up for through government borrowing, which is achieved through the sale of government bonds to private investors, the central banks, and other governments.

This is where China comes in.

When the U.S. or other governments cannot cover their annual expenses in tax revenues, they borrow through the sale of bonds to China or other governments that can afford then. The U.S. then makes annual interest payments to China based upon the number of bonds it has sold to the People’s Republic until the bonds mature. The accumulated borrowing from multiple sources, including but not limited to the PRC, over many years created the sovereign debt of the United States.

Now, many in the United States like the Germans think the road to fiscal and national security is sovereign wealth. In other words, governments should only spend within their means. On the surface, this makes sense. A good household would not spend beyond what it has the means to afford; so too should a good government.

The analogy, however, is a poor one.

Households borrow, and so do governments. Debt, within reason, creates lines of credit, necessary economic interactions that allow investment, the expansion of the economy, and greater wealth creation. The cult of austerity now sweeping Europe and North America would see this creation of debt disappear. That means even basic welfare services, innovation, infrastructure, and defense spending could suffer. Even more close to home would be cuts in student grants and loans.

Many often make the correlation between debt and economic growth.

China, for example, has only 37.5 percent of GDP in external debt (debt held by any type of creditor) according to the IMF in 2013. The IMF estimated the U.S. external debt to GDP ratio was 106 percent in 2015. The CIA World Factbook estimate China’s economy grew by over 7 percent last year. It estimated the U.S. GDP grew by 2.40 percent last year.

These figures are often throwaway for zealous politicians. However, the correlation is neither a cause nor absolute. The GDP itself is broken down into many variables, and says nothing about GDP per capita growth, income inequality, or how quality of life improved.

Long story short, the Eurozone crisis is a cautionary tale for us student voters.

The debt hawks in this country are as vehement if not more so that Germany about austerity. They want to cut government services when we need them more than ever. The scare over debt is for the time being a false one.

Sovereign debt has always existed and always will. Do we need to increase fiscal responsibility in some areas? Sure. However, the voters and the people we put in government need to deeply consider the importance of government spending in the economy. Simply slashing and burning the annual budget is not enough.

Unless we want sections of our country to end up like Greece, we cannot allow ourselves to be scared into austerity.

We cannot let Congress act like Germany, or else we will be forced to choke down the Greece-style cuts to services we have come to rely on.