Carefree Greeks & Worrywart Germans? Carefree is Better, Right?

Before one heads down a new road, a wise person will ask, “Where does this road take me?” Politically, the United States is currently on a new road, one heading decidedly more to the left than ever before in our history. As we go into elections next year, to the degree possible, we should learn as much as we can from the successes and failures of other countries, so we can improve upon their successes, and avoid their failures.
Thinking about this, the example of Greece and Germany come immediately to mind. The news is full of the misery the Greek people are enduring, as their financial house of cards comes tumbling down. Their government has attempted to create a carefree, socialist’s paradise. Unfortunately, as Margaret Thatcher in a Feb. 5, 1976 British TV interview, famously said, “Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people’s money.”
And as sure as the day is long, Greece has proven Thatcher right. It has amassed a veritable mountain of debt, a pile so high that it is inconceivable how they will ever repay it. Now, not only has the loan money dried up which was floating their profligate lifestyle, but they have the double whammy of having to pay back the loans out of their reduced income. The stories coming out of Greece are almost heart-breaking. 
On the other hand, there is the story of Germany, which is not only not running out of money, but in fact its federal government is running in the black.  They were at one time also financially in trouble, but they took corrective action. Now they are the one to whom Europe looks for leadership as well as financial aid.
What about us? The United States Government Accounting Office (GAO) states that “the federal government faces a rapid and unsustainable growth in debt.” Our attempts, under the banner of Progressivism, to create a socialist utopia, have not achieved that goal, because there is a fundamental fallacy built in: When government gives away a lot of money, there is less pressure on people to work and contribute to the economy.
The less vibrant the economy, the less opportunity for working people. The ones most affected are those newly entering the workforce. And the less vibrant the economy, the less money available to create new jobs and to pay wage increases.
Further, with a less vibrant economy, there is less opportunity for industry to create and sell new products. It is no accident that Mercedes-Benz and BMW come out of Germany and not Greece. Germany rewards hard work, and Greece’s current governmental system discourages it.
America knows how to succeed. Let’s make our present foray into secular, Progressive politics a short-lived one in our next round of elections in order to get our economy rolling again.
Now it is our time to choose. Do we want to be the carefree Greeks, or the worrywart Germans? Carefree would be better, but, at the end of the day, there is no free lunch.
Art Hall
From the Bible: With wisdom there are riches and honor. From Proverbs 8