"we (government)can just buy our own bonds."
That's literally printing money, which, yes, they can do, but then you devalue your currency to the world. There is no hard time explaining this to people: it's ruinous, and that's why no nations ever use this magical solution, except the most desparate already on the verge of catastrophic collapse.
For the record, I'm anti-deficit. I also recognize the type of outcome your discussing.
However.........
The U.S. has been engaged in Quantative Easing for more than a decade (which is more or less 'printing money'; except, they've been infusing it into banks rather than government, for the most part.
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Also worth noting. Canada and the provinces did not borrow debt on the open market in any material way, prior to the early 70s.
Borrowing was historically done through the Bank of Canada (you owe the money to yourself) at very low interest rates.
That's not an endorsement of a high-deficit, high-inflation strategy, merely a point that that has been done here, in the U.S. and elsewhere in the developed world without widespread harm, when done properly.
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Inflation can obviously have wildly harmful effects, particularly if uncontrolled/exponential in nature.
But....it can also have positive effects.
High Inflation on imported products, resulting from lower currency values favours domestic consumption of domestic goods; and creates favourable conditions for exports.
It tends to harm those of us with material investments if they fail to climb in value with or above inflation........(asset devaluation)
But it tends to be more favourable to those with low investments as it often shows income growth exceeding inflation.
Inflation also tends to devalue existing debt, making it cheaper to repay; which is favourable for people with higher debts, assuming their interest rates are fixed.
So there's some nuance to be had.
