People are not big on "austerity" nor "cutting back" when it involves themselves. Likely won't be long before they are back on the track of overspending and once again holding out their hand.
The only hat I will tip to Greece is the one that allowed them to trick the EU (and Germany) into throwing them 80B euros. You might as well have had a giant bonfire and set it all ablaze for the good it will do. You think some politician derived austerity package is going to change hundreds of years of Greek behavior? MARK THIS POST (and all others who are saying it). This money will do nothing but push the problem down the road and we'll have to revisit Greece. Also, keep an eye on contagion. This will not contain it.
Imagine that you are in serious trouble financially. You're spending more than you bring home by a good bit. Your bank is ready to foreclose, your cards are maxed. You approach your parents, hat in hand, and ask them for a loan. They tell you to shape up, they want to see a plan for how you'll get your life on track. After a long weekend of hard decisions, you agree to slowly scale down your spending. The most optimistic projections you make (that are sure to PO your wife/the unions to no end) show 3 long years later, you're still spending more than you make: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100503/bs_afp/greecefinanceeconomy
There's 3 parts to the problems of Greece imho 1. Have a 2nd class euro for the PIIG countries. This would be devalued until the losers decide to pull their fingers out of their posteriors and do some work. 2. Hope that some foreigners will arrive ( like the 7th cavalry ) and buy up anything worth buying up as the locals are hopeless 3. The Greek politicians take an immediate 10% pay cut to show they are willing to carry their part of the burden they would normally have dumped on the Greek people. Seeing as how its basically their fault. And make it 10% a year until their debts are paid off.
That's the basic trouble with Democracy - the politicians have to promise more and more to get elected and the state gets less and less. Until the "garden of Eden" becomes a dung heap. They will look to their friends to help them out until their patience is exhausted. Personally I wouldn't give them a penny !! Oh dear well maybe there is something better ?