Profligate spending got them austerity because they borrowed money they couldn't pay back to spend on fantastic benefits they couldn't afford. Everyone wants great benefits but they come at a price. If you don't have the money to cover them you only make things worse by borrowing. Sooner or later the bill has to be paid. That's not free money, that money belongs to depositors all over Europe who expect the banks they put their savings into to be careful in their lending practices. If the banks lose that money no one will put money into them causing them to collapse, losing even more money. That has a ripple effect around the world as banks bundle loans into investment vehicles that other banks invest in. Everything is connected these days Ricky. It's not that a bunch of greedy bankers are being mean to the Greeks. They worked with the Greek government to give them loans to help them. The Greeks couldn't cover it so now those fantastic benefits are gone and Greeks are complaining about how austere their lives are now. Cause and effect. And a number of countries are nearly in the same boat, pretty much all in southern Europe. The southern Europeans are much more socialist leaning while the northern Europeans are more work oriented. The notable exception being Norway, which has a small population and a lot of oil. That's allowed them to do things for their population that most countries envy. But it takes having underlying wealth and good management. If all it took was a lot of oil then Venezuela would be a paradise.
