The lesson here (missed by the authors IMO) is not about the applicability of Greece to the US, but applying the example of Greece (and the other PIIGS) to the individual sovereign states of the US. The miserable credit ratings for CA and IL are indicative of and in large part due to some of the same factors plaguing the PIIGS. Improving the rate of growth of business and reducing the rate of growth of entitlements (also noted in the article) are the real issues facing both the S. European EC members and the over-indebted states.
No, growth of entitlements should be
precisely the political goal of poor people, muon. Accepting the assumption that 'reducing the rate of growth of entitlements' is a positive goal or even a practical necessity is political suicide for the non-wealthy.
