Portugal is desperately trying to learn from their own and Greece's mistakes. Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos has just announced new austerity measures which will hopefully convince financial markets and other European Union countries that Portugal has its finances in order. But while Portugal works to avoid a debt crisis like the one Greece currently faces, President Obama continues to push the United States toward one.

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At today's news conference in Lisbon, Teixeira dos Santos said the new plan "rests, essentially, on a reduction in public spending." With a projected record budget deficit of 9.3 percent of its gross domestic product in 2009, Portugal and has very real concerns that it could face similar problems to Greece where a budget crisis has brought violent demonstrations, rattled the European Union and undermined the 16-country euro currency. (source)

The austerity plan includes the Socialist government not raising public sector wages by more than inflation until 2013 and will extend the existing rule of hiring just one civil servant for every two leaving the service. Main unions have already said they plan strikes and protests if the government does not reverse real wage declines. (source) This tension even before the austerity plan takes effect demonstrates just how difficult it is for governments who have given more than they can afford to give are forced to rescind what they need to in order to remain solvent.

In addition to spending cuts, the Portuguese government is considering an expansion of its privatization program. That program is intended to reduce the country's debt and the expansion may involve selling shares in the country's postal service and in the insurance operations of state-owned lender Caixa Geral de Depositos. (source)

Meanwhile on this side of the Atlantic, President Obama keeps on pushing for the type of nationalization, regulation and entitlements that have gotten Greece and Portugal to the point where painful austerity measures are necessary. Today he is speaking in Pennsylvania trying to muster public support for his $1 trillion (some say it's more like $2 trillion) version of health care reform. (source) As other nations are paying the high costs of reckless government spending, the Obama machine continues to raise our deficit to unsustainable highs.

Summing up Portugal's approach to heading off a financial crisis in his country, Teixeira dos Santos said, "We are focusing on reducing spending and avoiding tax hikes." Are you paying attention, President Obama? Or can you not see anything through the haze of your far left ideology?