And Greece’s profligacy was epic. In the run-up to its debt crisis in 2010, the government’s primary budget deficit (the amount by which government expenditure on goods and services exceeds revenues, excluding interest payments on its debt) was equivalent to an astonishing 10% of national income.
不论发生哪种情景，大部分调整负担都将落在希腊头上。任何突然被迫由奢入简的国家都必须做出巨大调整，即使其过去所有债务都得到豁免。而希腊之“奢”更是一个极端。在2010年危机爆发前，该国政府初级预算赤字（政府在商品和服务方面的支出超过收入的程度，不包括债务利息支付支出）高达国民收入的10%。