To tap down unemployment, Greece permitted workers to retire too young and spent too much on pensions, and the government spent lavishly on education, health care, and other services to create jobs.

In the United States, state and local governments are spending too much on social security and employee pensions. Federal government spending has permanently increased, under the guise of temporary stimulus, to create government jobs and to subsidize a very inefficient health care system. States are spending too much on inefficient educational and transit systems, and other services, and on skyrocketing Medicaid mandates and health care benefits for employees and retirees.

The federal deficit has rocketed from $161 billion in 2007 to about $1.3 trillion, and has been above $1 trillion for four years.