Greece is the perfect example of the eventual outcome of unchecked spending – especially as it creeps closer and closer to defaulting on its massive debts, despite multiple government bailouts in May 2011. One recent BBC News headline warned: “Greece: ‘Default within the euro is possible’.”

But, looking back, some journalists predicted the opposite: that the Greek economy would survive because of government bailouts. Huge fan of government-deficit spending, Paul Krugman, has been writing about Greece a lot, arguing that its trouble is proof that austerity doesn’t work.