[justlurking]

Rejection of the package, which includes yet more austerity measures for the long suffering Greek electorate

Oh, BS.

Maximum Social Security benefit in the US: $28,392/year.
Maximum social insurance benefit in Greece: $101,927/year.

Average Social Security benefits in the US is $14,124/year. I wasn't able to find a specific number for Greece, but I saw a news report in the past couple of days that indicated it was approximately double that of the US.

Tax rates in Greece are 7% on the employee and 14% on the employer. The next result is that contributions are about 50% higher for each employee.

Normal retirement age is 65 in Greece, 66 in the US. Early retirement age in Greece is as early as 50.

[businessprofessor]

Government pensions in the US are similar to the Greek pensions, even more generous. Perhaps everyone in Greece is considered a government employee so they have more generous pensions.