The trouble is that austerity measures tend to cause more pain in an economy, in the short term at least.
Cutting off government stimulus when little else is firing only adds to unemployment and can cause nations to slip back into recession, as has happened in Britain.
It's hard to escape the reality that books do need balancing. Western democracies can't keep living indefinitely on credit - at least not if they expect to maintain the kind of freedoms and standard of living to which they are accustomed. But how to get there is one of the most hotly debated issues in economics.
Government spending is a good way to jump-start an economy, but if you are as broke as the Greeks it might be a luxury you can't afford.
Perhaps the French can afford it, but the departure of Nicolas Sarkozy is a big blow to Northern European solidarity on the issue.
Markets will be on edge in coming days as Greek leaders try to form a minority government and the left-wing resolve of French President Francois Hollande is tested.
As usual it will make great drama but the risks that this further dampens global demand for commodity prices are very real. That could mean less cash flowing into our economy and a longer, slower recovery.
And that would make life even more difficult for the National Government as they forge on with their austerity-lite policies.
* Debate on this issue is now closed.