Governments are like drug addicted teenagers, and taxpayers in Germany and the USA are like the parents who gave their drug addicted teenager a credit card. You know those credit cards are going to get maxed out to help out their buddies, since Greece, Italy, etc. are already broke. Our government is also irresponsible, but it can still borrow money.
But even a country as large, populous and economically powerful as the US cannot borrow money indefinitely. Sooner or later the creditors will come knocking on the door. Voters in all the Western powers just cannot seem to grasp this. They think the good times are here forever.