The economy of a once-powerful country is deteriorating. A low birth rate has reduced the population of this formerly great nation that has been on a downhill slide for the last 50 years. What’s more, this former empire shares its currency with twenty-two other countries that are in the same predicament. Several of these countries have borrowed so much money in that currency that they are bringing the down the other countries that use that currency.

This description could fit many European countries. Over the last century, Europe has dug itself into a pit of debt and underpopulation. A perfect storm of too much borrowed money, deficit spending, and the lack of a work ethic began the process of deepening Europe’s debt still further. Europe’s current financial problems started because of the globalization of finance and banking and imbalances in international trade, along with easy credit conditions during the past decade and burst real-estate bubbles like in the United States.

“The biggest problem is with deficit spending, both individually and government-wise. Because of the disinterest and instability, several European counties are facing inflation,” said Hungarian exchange student Akos Bartha, Junior.

More and more countries of Europe joined in the use of the Euro as the national currency, joining what is known as the Eurozone. The downside of having too many countries using one currency is that if there is a financial crisis in one or two of those countries, the other countries using that currency are dragged further down financially than if they used different currency. Several countries, including Greece and Italy, borrowed far too much money in the Euro and are now ruing the consequences. Germany, one of the most stable countries in the European Union, is being counted on to help restore stability to Europe.

“Germany is playing a large role in restoring Europe’s economic stability. If the German taxpayers decide they no longer want to bear the burden of bailing out irresponsible, debt-ridden nations, those nations will in fact default on their loans and collapse financially. Those who monitor the situation closely say that is why the EU may be on the verge of collapse,” said Howard Warren, Upper School History Teacher.

As the debt crisis began to take hold, Greece found itself in a hole that it probably will not be able to pay itself out of. This negatively impacted the other countries that use the Euro financially. Greece’s debt in the Euro dragged down the other twenty-two countries that use the Euro.

According to nationaldebtclocks.com, the national debt of Greece currently stands at approximately $40,500 per capita, or per citizen, significantly smaller than the approximately $49,000 per capita for the United States. However, Greece is currently in a much worse situation than the United States due to the fact that its unemployment rate is 17.5%, more than twice as high as the United States’ 8.6% unemployment rate, according to dollarsandsense.org.

The citizens of the United States would do well to learn from Europe’s mistakes. While the United States has a large national debt, it is not nearly as big as the debts of some European countries. With a growing population, the United States also has a greater ability to pay off its debt than most European countries, despite its high deficit spending. Still, the United States should learn from Europe’s mistakes so that they do not make the same errors and end up in a similar situation.

“If the political leaders of our country, both Democrat and Republican, continue to overpromise what can be delivered in terms of a social safety net, like many of the countries of Europe have done, we could very well end up in the same situation as they are in now,” said Warren.