Today’s Wall Street Journal has this letter that compares fiscal irresponsibility in Greece and the US.

Avoiding the Greek Experience
The economic bedlam in Greece as described by David Malpass in “The Euro’s Greek Tragedy, and Its Lessons for America” (op-ed, Feb. 27) is an extreme version of a fiscal virus that periodically plagues all western democracies. The problems start with well-intentioned government spending in response to electorate demands for ever-increasing services and benefits. Taxes can’t sustain the spending, so borrowing fills the gap. Greece is now a new and fascinating test case for democratic fiscal irresponsibility because, as Mr. Malpass indicates, it can’t inflate its way out of trouble as long as it’s tied to the euro, and the European Central Bank won’t accommodate an inflationary fix.

According to Arthur C. Brooks in his book “Gross National Happiness,” people understand the adverse implications of unrestrained government spending, even as many demand more “free” benefits. Maybe the happiness dynamic is different in Greece, where more people are unemployed or working for the government, but the Greeks marching on the streets of Athens don’t look all that happy. Somehow, Democrats in Washington look at the financial mayhem in Greece, Spain, California, New York, etc., and proceed to spend and borrow trillions of dollars more. The U.S. dollar is, after all, the world’s reserve currency and U.S. debt is triple-A-rated, and they will remain so until they’re not.

Greg Powell

Roanoke, Va.