Greece is half a world away, so many Americans are paying little attention to the fiscal crisis rocking that Mediterranean nation. But rather than ignore the financial crisis in Greece, Americans should be paying attention — because many of Greece's troubles are found in America, although to a lesser degree.

The crisis in Greece could be a preview of what America will someday face, unless major changes take place in deficit spending, tax compliance, underfunded pensions and overly generous benefits to government employees and other unionized workers.

In a nutshell, Greece has been living beyond its means and making financial promises it cannot keep. The country has accumulated huge debt levels that are unsustainable, and as a result its bonds have been downgraded to junk status, raising interest rates for the nation's borrowing. Many employees in Greece have, through the extraordinary political and economic power of their unions, earned benefits that are not being funded by tax revenue.

And when it comes to taxes, tax cheating in Greece is at epidemic levels. A recent headline in the New York Times noted that "Greek Wealth Is Everywhere But (on) Tax Forms." The article explained that residential swimming pools are taxed as evidence of wealth, but that in a well-to-do suburb of Athens only 324 people checked the box on their tax forms indicating they had a pool. Suspicious Greek tax officials looked at satellite photos and found "a sprawling collection of expensive villas tucked behind tall gates — and came back with a decidedly different number: 16,974 pools."

America, too, suffers because of widespread cheating on taxes. The issue does not get much coverage, except around the April 15 federal income tax deadline, but all honest taxpayers suffer when others cheat or otherwise fail to pay their fair share.

It is esimated that the U.S. has a $300 billion "tax gap," the difference between what is owed the U.S. Treasury and what is collected. The culprits range from lower-income people living in a cash economy and the super-wealthy who stash some of their riches in offshore tax havens or Swiss bank accounts.

It's clear that government officials in Greece and the U.S. are not doing enough to crack down on tax cheating. Honest taxpayers should demand better enforcement.

Another similarity between the crisis in Greece and the United States is found in the costs of pensions, mostly for public employees and other unionized workers.

In Greece, early retirement has been promised to 700,000 workers, or about 14 percent of the government workforce, according to the Times. The newspaper reported that Greece has classified 580 job categories that are eligible, due to supposed hazards, for retirement at 50 for women and 55 for men.

The average retirement age in Greece is 61, among the lowest in Europe.

In America, many public service unions have managed to pressure weak governments into approving contracts and benefit packages that exceed those found in the private sector. Recent surveys have found that most federal government workers earn more money than their private sector counterparts and enjoy pensions and fringe benefits that are nearly 40 percent more costly than those in the private sector.

American taxpayers at every level, including local property tax payers saddled with supporting expensive public employee benefits and pensions, are saying, "No more." Pressure is mounting on politicians to rein in costly benefit packages and pensions, as well as require government workers to pay a fair share of their health care coverage, just as do most workers in the private sector.

Recent public teacher contracts have revealed this indefensible discrepancy, with teachers sometimes paying just $20 a month for health care coverage while many private sector workers contribute 10 times that amount — or more — for lesser benefits.

Given its relatively small economy, Greece is in a much more difficult financial situation than the United States. And yesterday's nationwide strike and violent riots in Athens do not look like something we'll ever see in America. But the roots of the problems are similar — excessive government spending and borrowing, downgraded credit ratings, higher interest costs, unsustainable benefits and pensions promised to public employees and rampant tax cheating.

Greece is caught in the grips of a serious financial crisis. The United States still has time to make changes, but to do so will require elected leaders to make unpopular decisions and, so far, few politicians seem willing to do that.

Greece might be on another continent, but it's not that far away.