AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool

You reap what you sow. It's an age-old rule, known as the Law of the Harvest. For the government it means that debt carries risk, and when risk is involved, someone is going to pay for it.

To finance its recovery plans and budget, the current administration has been spending borrowed money at levels that make the previous administration appear almost frugal. To finance it, they've needed to issue enormous amounts of Treasury bills.

But that only helps if someone is willing to buy them. As deep in debt as the United States is at present, it's not easy to find buyers. In the world market, our credit rating has been downgraded. Other countries are struggling, too, and may not have spare cash to help us out of our troubles.

To make buying our debt more appealing, the government has had to offer higher interest rates. This in turn will make it more difficult to pay off our debts down the road. This also has the effect of driving up interest rates in the commercial sector, too, as banks will need to compete with the government for investors. Rising interest rates will make an already credit tight nation even tighter, and could threaten the very economic recovery this added debt was supposed to ensure.

The government is attempting to offset this by buying many of its own Treasury bills. To do this they are printing more cash. More cash in circulation increases the risk of inflation. If there is more money to pay for things, demand for goods increases. If the demand rises faster than the supply, the price of the goods must increase to offset the demand, known as inflation.

What is the lesson for business? First of all, be prepared. Even though the economy appears to be recovering, further missteps by the government may result either in a double-dip recession or inflation. Though unwarranted caution also feeds the recession, it would be wise to keep a close eye on the economy for awhile and plan for both contingencies.

Second, remember that risk carries a price. This can work for you or against you. Manage your own debt carefully to ensure that rising interest rates don't swamp your boat. Do what you can to make your own business as low a risk for investors/creditors as possible. Also, consider capitalizing on risk when it is in your favor. Expect larger returns when engaging in investments that carry greater risk. Now could be a great time to have money, and a bad time to need money.

It is arguable that the government had to do what it did to stave off a worse recession. The government, being the government, is also more able to control economic conditions enough to avoid certain consequences in a way businesses cannot. Still, we also see that the government is not immune from consequences any more than businesses are. It's a lesson worth remembering, for both government and business.