The world economy,is still struggling to adapt to the new realities of being “thirtysomething”. It is stricken by two illnesses simultaneously. The first is the result of the excessive lifestyle it led before the crisis. The author refers to the overblown financial system and the extreme leveraging, which created a lasting liability in the shape of mountains of debt. It was this excessive leveraging which paved the way to the financial crisis. During the crisis itself, it was plain to see that leverage levels needed to be lowered, especially in the financial sector. But precious little headway has been made in this regard, leaving us with an unstable financial system. The second ailment is that global economic growth has been stubbornly stagnant over the past seven years.Most policy responses to the crisis have sought to put output levels and growth back on track. Yet growth has been stuck in the doldrums in most advanced countries. Thus, the global economy has been stricken by both stagnating growth and excessive levels of debt. These twin illnesses are very difficult to treat – especially so given that it is not entirely clear what exactly is behind the growth problem. Is it the unhealthy lifestyle of excessive finance, or is it another, more fundamental condition? Or could it be a more complex complaint in which stifling debt and low growth fuel each other in a vicious circle? Thesis is Financial painkillers aren’t the cure.