House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence published an op/ed in Human Events today entitled "America Following Greece to Economic Ruin?":

Greece is a country in crisis and America will be soon. Both countries are flirting with fiscal ruin because of reckless government spending.

Greece has given us a stark picture of where endless government deficits lead. Faced with national bankruptcy after years of deficit spending, Greece is raising taxes, slashing pension benefits and cutting government wages. The severity of the cuts caused a public outcry by many who were led to believe that they were entitled to the benefits of a government-funded welfare state.

What does Greece have to do with us? First, U.S. tax dollars are being used by the International Monetary Fund to help rescue Greece. Americans have been forced into a global bailout, not unlike the U.S. government’s 2008 bailout of Wall Street firms with taxpayer dollars. And, the European Union and the IMF have set up a $925 billion fund to bail out other European nations facing debt crises. As the largest contributor to the IMF, the United States will ultimately guarantee tens of billions for these nations.