All the focus so far has been on who put us in this mess.  On this particular issue, though, I think we need to turn the focus around.  We need to ask the forward-looking question, "What will these austerity measures buy us?"  For about 90% of the population, there will be great sacrifices with no return.  Why sign up for that?  Here in the US the powers-that-be are desperate to keep us from asking that forward-looking question because there are so many things we could ask it about, from pension plans the banksters loot with impudence to "educations" that give a monstrous debt load and no employability.