Silvio BerlusconiOne of the most alarming aspects of the debt crisis in Italy — a crisis that has brought down Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi — is how it parallels the United States’ own debt woes.
Italy’s debt, $2.6 trillion, has risen to 120 percent of its gross domestic product — or everything that Italy’s economy produces in a year.
The United States’ debt, $14.9 trillion, is around 100 percent of our GDP, so we are not far behind Italy in that frightening regard.
Also like the United States, Italy is in a time of anemic economic growth, if not outright recession. And it has had a free-spending mentality on social welfare benefits — regardless of whether it could afford them.
So now, Italy is bringing in a new leader after Berlusconi resigned. The leader, Mario Monti, is an economics professor. He promises to get a panel of “experts” working on Italy’s financial problems before Italy goes into default on its huge debt and causes grave economic harm to all Europe, and thus to the United States.