Part of "current spending" _is_ making bets on the future state of the economy. Governments build roads, dig ports, build new neighborhoods, etc. in anticipation of economic and/or population growth.

When a company lends money to do such that, it is called leverage, and considered a good thing because it allows them to make higher yields on their capital. Shouldn't governments be judged the same if they borrow money to speed up such developments?