I also have to wonder where you get the idea that anything in economics is 'hard data', the world is a complex system, it's very rare for a simple answer to work.
But a simple answer will sell books and be easy to promote by the media and politicians. That's why we always hear simple answers, not because they work.
Debt is indeed a tool used by the haves to siphon money from the have nots. All the more reason for wealth redistribution.