Greece has the most bloated school system in Europe IIRC, which is still so bad that lots of kids get private tutoring on the side.

Sweden had a bloated public sector in the 70's and 80's. The 90's crisis dealt with that problem. We shed people far quicker than 2.5% per year in those days.

But we did have a floating currency, a strong social safety net and a strong demand for our export products. People who lost their jobs in the public sector had somewhere to go, and they were sheltered while they switched to new jobs. It didn't work perfectly, but here we are 20 years later and it seems it did work.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.