It's never OK to not pay your debts and let someone else pay them for you. I assure you that someone else will pay the entirety of Greece's debt in some form or another. They had no choice but to pay something because the alternative was to go to bond markets on their own and pay pawn shop interest rates. It is the result of no accountability in public spending and the same thing will inevitably happen to nations around the world until their populations or events force them to change.
For the third time since 1900 as a nation the USA owes more than GDP. Happened during the 1930's, during WWII, and now again. Troubling thing is we've got unemployment which is not extreme at 8.3% but debt to GDP over the 100% mark which is extreme by historical standards. Why and how is it there at that point and most importantly what happens when nations continue to live outside their means during periods which do not warrant it? What level is the critical point?
In the 1930's the nation had severely high unemployment and as a result a relatively low GDP and a high debt to GDP ratio. WWII had a huge buildup of resources in order to fight the war. Now? Unemployment at 8.3 percent, a reasonably high GDP, and a debt scenario that is out of control historically.
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