Also Ireland vs. Iceland. Both got massively screwed over not by the government, but by mismanaged banks. Ireland's stuck its own taxpayers with the debts of

Also Ireland vs. Iceland. Both got massively screwed over not by the government, but by mismanaged banks. Ireland's stuck its own taxpayers with the debts of its profligate banks, and done the "austerity" thing to pay for it. Iceland let the banks go broke, and let the banks' overseas debtors take the hit. And even though the Icelandic banks screwed up worse than anybody's, Iceland's doing as well as Ireland in total output (better than the Baltics), and a lot better in unemployment, which is kinda relevant if you're an Icelander. Everyone's favorite economic lightning rod posts graphs here: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/comparative-peripheral-suffering/ http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/comparative-peri...