Reply #15: If they defaulted, they'd still have to make massive cuts

[boppers]

They were spending much more than they were generating, to the point where a 100% tax rate wouldn't be enough to cover current obligations.

Here's how far it went:
A clerk could work for the government, and get 14 months (not a typo) of salary a year. When he retired in his 40's-50's(!?), he would continue to be paid for 14 months of work a year. When he died, if he had any unmarried daughters, they would continue to be paid for 14 months of work a year.

So, effectively, they were paying up to 80 years of salary for 20 years of work.

Simply not tenable, bank loans or not... blaming "banksters" doesn't fix the problem where their GDP cannot cover existing obligations.