There are problems that can only be avoided before the fact but not solved once they occur.<p>Austerity in the last few decades would have <i>avoided</i> the crisis but once you have more debt than you can ever afford to repay neither spending nor saving will do the trick and the only possible way forward is default.<p>Since you refer to Greece in your other comment - I am more concerned about the politics than about the economics, given they don&#x27;t default even though they have a clear democratic mandate.