How many times have we heard the warning that if the government in
Washington doesn’t change its ways, the United States could become
another Greece? Three years ago, when the crisis in Greece was just
getting underway, I wrote a
post making some comparisons between Greek and U.S. fiscal performance, along with a separate
slideshow
that presented a supporting set of charts. One key chart showed the two
countries’ fiscal balances moving in an ominously parallel pattern that
suggested that the United States might be about to follow Greece down
the fiscal drain.
Last week, a reader who had run across the old slideshow scolded me
for having been an alarmist. While the crisis in Greece has morphed from
a crisis into a disaster, he pointed out, the U.S. economy has
gradually recovered and its fiscal balance has improved markedly. Why?
What were the key factors that made the difference?
>>>Read More
Follow this link to view or download a classroom-ready slideshow version of this post complete with additional charts.
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