Legend has it that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Alas, there weren't any actual fiddles at the time.
But today Athens is ablaze, and Rome may not be far behind. And nobody feels much like fiddling.
Greece, rife with corruption and unsustainable welfare spending, just approved an austerity plan in order to get a $170 billion bailout from other European countries.
The plan slashes the minimum wage, government jobs and welfare. So rioters have taken to the Athenian streets, burning buildings and attacking police. But the bailout may not reverse Greece's fortunes; an earlier one didn't. Greece may still go into default, as may Italy.
Meanwhile, on this side of the Atlantic, President Barack Obama is proposing a budget that promises more federal spending in areas such as education and transportation -- where previous federal spending has been wasteful and unproductive. And while the proposal gives lip service to eventual spending cuts, it would raise taxes almost immediately.
Which do you think is more apt to stay on the books: immediate tax hikes or down-the-road spending cuts? And do you think a lack of real spending cuts is more -- or less -- likely to push our country toward the sort of crisis we see in Greece?