Why is Italy and Spain Worse Off Than the US

Good Op Ed by Paul Krugman.  I especially liked his summary on why countries like Italy and spain are having problems in spite of the fact that their economies aren't necessarily worse off than coutnries like the US, Great Britain, and Japan.  According to Krugman:

What has happened, it turns out, is that by going on the euro, Spain and Italy in effect reduced themselves to the status of third-world countries that have to borrow in someone else’s currency, with all the loss of flexibility that implies. In particular, since euro-area countries can’t print money even in an emergency, they’re subject to funding disruptions in a way that nations that kept their own currencies aren’t — and the result is what you see right now. America, which borrows in dollars, doesn’t have that problem.

The whole article is a good read.  It turns out that many countries that became members of the EU have become Germany's bitches and know that they need massive help Germany and it's puppet (ECB) are turning their backs on them.