Some rambling thoughts...
So, the finacial elite of Europe thinks they might have pushed "austerity" a little too hard, especially on Greece. I suppose causing formerly gainfully employed people to satisfy their hunger by dumpster diving was a bit "over-the-top," but how else would the bond-holders get their money?
I doubt if grammy and grampy would have gone broke if Greece was unable to keep up the payments on their loans. The bond-holders of sovereign debt tend to be major financial institutions, and any small-holders likely were not entirely dependent on the interest payments. Anyhow, isn't risk a part of investing?
Greece is a small country with a relatively weak economy. It is not the United States. The risk of investing in Greek bonds is not the same as investing in U. S. Treasury paper. If interest rates on Amercian debt is close to zero, and still attracts customers, investors are clearly certain that their money is safe. Greece had to offer higher rates to attract bond buyers, so clearly, their was some fear of default from the get-go.
What really irks me is the loss of sovreignty evidenced by the reaction of the global oligarchy to the decision of the Greek government to put the rescue plan to a referendum. The howling could be heard across oceans. How could the interests of the Masters of the Universe be left to the whim of the Great (Greek) Unwashed? Clearly, the concerns of ordinary people were irrelevant. So much for democracy in the place of its origin.
The flailing of the Eurozone institutions also reveal the limits of European unification. The deeply ingrained cultural differences of the people of europe, their distinct national and ethnic identities, far outweigh any sense of commonality which the term "european" invokes. Eash group clings to its identity with a ferocity Americans, of whatever ethnic extraction, cannot understand. The closest thing in America is not nationality or ethnicity, but race. A common currency does not unify the continent, but puts those countries with more of it in a position to dictate to those with less. Those with less resent the power of those with more. Where these resentments follow along the same fault lines as nationality, the situation does not bode well for unity, and resembles the political fault lines of the past.