Greek Austerity Riots

I already talked about the Greek debt crisis, but let's talk about why people are rioting. From their point of view, the debt crisis is not their fault. Economic prosperity and socialism has finally given them the standard of living that one normally expects in a European country. But suddenly, their government is telling them that debt has reached emergency levels and austerity measures must be implemented. This sounds dishonest and mean-hearted to the average Greek. They have worked, paid taxes, and seen their country grow - and now they are being told that they must pay the billions in debt that their politicians racked up. Why did their leaders not pursue a more sustainable growth strategy? Why did they expect that they could simply keep borrowing until a crisis set in? They knowingly drove their own country into the ground and they are now being made to pay the price in form of their reputations and careers. If they had started small austerity measures several years ago to reduce Greece's sovereign debt, some grumbling might have been heard, but riots would have been unlikely. But to immediately tax a populace and reduce their benefits is like grabbing a bull by the horns - you are going to get hurt.