> If by "get your shit together" you mean "maintain a functioning economy and get your deficits under control", austerity is exactly the wrong approach to take.

> If by "get your shit together" you mean "maintain a functioning economy and get your deficits under control", austerity is exactly the wrong approach to take. You're assuming that Greece's spending helps to maintain a functioning economy. That's arguable. "Get your deficits under control" requires increasing revenues and/or decreasing spending. Maintaining Greece's spending choices does not address the latter and if it addressed the former, they wouldn't have deficits.